Arakai Remes: The Story of a Star Wars OC
by Macroblepharia
Summary: A man with the ability to negate the powers of force users faces off against fan favorite characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan. This action drama explores the life of a normal citizen who becomes angered with the Republic and joins the CIS in hopes of making the Galaxy a better place. Rated for violence though I don't think it's any worse than The Clone Wars. Please leave reviews.
1. Chapter 1

**(Author's note: In this fanfic midi-chlorians, much like electrons, have both a positive and negative charge. All life forms have the same amount of midi-chlorians but some have a higher ratio of positive to negative than others. These beings are force sensitive. There are extremely rare cases in which a being can have more negative than positive though. These beings are anti-sensitive. While they cannot use the force, their being in the presence of a force user negates that person's ability to use the force. This is because the extra negatives in the blood of the anti-sensitive balances out with the extra positives in the force sensitive's blood. This does not always completely erase ones ability to connect with or use the force, as some force sensitives are have a higher positive midi-chlorian count than others, but it can significantly decrease their effectiveness when attempting to.)**

Arakai Remes

The Story of My Star Wars OC

Chapter 1

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. If I did, then this would be canon, and you wouldn't be reading it, you'd be watching it, and it wouldn't be free, I'd be making money from it. But seeing as I do not own Star Wars, I guess it isn't canon, you are reading it, and it is free. Dang…**

 _A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…_

On the planet Mandalore there was a young boy was born to the Remes family. His name was Arakai. Though he and his family didn't know it at the time, he was an anti-sensitive being. He grew to be a tall, strong, and handsome young man who was well educated within several fields of science and mathematics. His best friend was a young man of about his age named Shetka Dolio (djo-LE-o), who was honest, witty, and loyal. When they were both eighteen years of age, Arakai and Shetka were drafted into a small, but very important and very secret military organization instituted by Duchess Satine in case of any invasions from other systems or groups. They were trained in martial arts, marksmanship, stealth, flight, and many other things until they had mastered them all. They were then stationed at a secret military facility on Concordia. This is when Arakai's life really began…

"Man, can this job be any more boring?" Shetka wondered aloud.

"Doubt it." Arakai responded. He and his friend were tasked with guarding the entrance to the weapons vault. They had been standing completely still for what seemed like the whole day waiting for something, anything to happen. Even watching a janitor would be more entertaining than this.

"When do you suppose we'll get transferred to somewhere where there's at least a little action?" Shetka continued.

"Probably when the Duchess disbands this whole operation." Arakai said. "After that we can embark on the greatest adventure of all, working at a diner. On Alderaan." Shetka couldn't see the grin beneath his helmet but he still knew it was there.

"Right," Shetka said in a Kronk-like sort of way, "like that'll ever happen." It had become apparent that Duchess Satine was very anti-war, but even she wouldn't go so far as to dismantle a top secret emergency military organization known only to her and the members of the organization itself.

"I guess we'll be stuck here doing nothing forever." Shetka responded with a chuckle. He had barely gotten the words out before red lights started blinking up and down the corridors. Through the speaker system, they heard an officer say: _There is an intruder in sector 4. He's heading for the arsenal. Move to intercept. This is not a drill._

"I guess you jinxed it." Arakai said with a smirk. But it disappeared as soon as he heard the sound of blaster fire and screaming. He and Shetka took positions behind some cover. They could see red laser bolts flying past on the opposite end of the hall. One soldier attempted to advance but was shot down before he could find cover.

"You still want some action?" Arakai yelled to Shetka over the sound of the blasters.

"Heck yeah!" Shetka responded with excitement. The blaster fire ceased. All was quiet. Arakai motioned his friend to move ahead and investigate. Blaster rifle at the ready, Shetka slowly moved toward the end of the corridor. Suddenly, two thermal detonators were flung around the corner and down the hall.

"TAKE COVER!" Shetka yelled as he scrambled back down the hall. But he wasn't fast enough. The explosion rocked the entire facility.

Arakai stood up. "Shetka!" he shouted. No response. He shouted again, "Shetka!" then his eyes came to rest on Shetka's unmoving figure on the ground. He started to run towards him but then stopped. At the other end of the corridor a man in blue, white and grey mandalorian armor was holding a blaster pistol up at him.

"Don't move," the man said, "Do you know the code to get in the door to the arsenal?"

"Why should I tell you?" Arakai responded defiantly.

"Because if you don't I'll shoot you and your friend and then blow the door up. It's your choice how this ends." the man replied.

Arakai, realizing he had no choice but to comply, lowered his weapon and put his hands up. "Good," the man said, "Now open the door."

Arakai turned and opened the door to the arsenal. He stepped aside and let the man in. After taking weapons and ammunition, the man turned to Arakai and asked, "Is Teardo your commanding officer?"

"Yes." Arakai said with a defeated tone.

"Good," the man replied, "Tell him Jango said 'hi'."

With that the man left. Arakai ran to Shetka, picked him up and brought him to the sick bay. After a brief examination, the medical droids gave a good prognosis. He was unconscious, but was expected to make a full recovery. Commander Teardo came into the room to inspect the situation. He eyed Arakai curiously.

"You have no wounds." he remarked.

"I'm here for him." Arakai responded.

"You should be at your post," Com. Teardo said, then looking at Shetka, asked "What happened?"

Arakai told him the whole story. Com. Teardo looked shocked. "You let Jango Fett raid our weapons arsenal!?" he asked in disbelief as Arakai finished, "Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?"

"No sir, how dangerous?" Arakai asked frankly.

Com. Teardo looked at him incredulously. "With our weapons, he can and most likely will destroy whole buildings, murder thousands. Did you not for one moment think that someone who could not only learn about and find a secret military facility, but also successfully infiltrate it, probably shouldn't be going through its weapons closet?"

"With all due respect sir-" Arakai started, but was interrupted.

"We will speak no more of this. You are hereby officially relieved from duty. I expect you gone before morning. And count yourself lucky I won't have you facing a firing squad." Com. Teardo exited the room rather quickly and left Arakai in a daze. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see Shetka again after this.

That night, as he was packing what little belongings he had, Shetka came into the room.

"I heard you were discharged." he began. Arakai didn't reply. He was afraid that if he spoke to Shetka, it would be the last time. "Well if it makes you feel better, I made an early retirement," Shetka continued, "I told Teardo that if you were leaving than I was too. And that was that. He signed my release papers and I'm free to pack up and go."

"You did that for me?" Arakai asked, "Surely it couldn't have been that simple."

"Well there was some arguing…"

"He kicked you cause you ticked him off too much."

"Yup."

"But what about your life, your career?"

"Who cares about my career?" Shetka said, "I wouldn't have a career if it didn't involve you. I'd rather spend all my days in a grave waiting to die."

"Careful Shetka," Arakai said, "you might jinx yourself again."

They laughed and finished packing, looking forward with anticipation to whatever life would bring next.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arakai woke up. It had now been a few days since he had been discharged. He got out of his cot and went to go find something to eat. He found Shetka already awake.

"Hungry?" Shetka asked.

"You know you really should get a job as a cook," Arakai said simply, "seeing as you enjoy it and you're good at it."

"You know, you should consider personal security. It's probably a decent line of work," Shetka said to him, "considering your qualifications and all."

"Qualifications indeed," Arakai moaned, "kicked out of a secret branch of the military that we really can't tell anybody about."

"Well it's either that or be a mercenary for hire." Shetka offered.

"And be just like that Jango guy who got us in this mess in the first place," Arakai said, "no thank you. I'd never be hired to ruin someone else's life for good. Not in a million years."

"Who said you'll be ruining lives," Shetka joked, "It's more likely you'll just end them instead."

"Not helping," Arakai chuckled.

"Technically," Shetka put in, "you get to choose what job you take and who hires you. It doesn't have to be a bad job."

"Well maybe so," Arakai responded, "but I still don't like the idea."

"That's fine, but you should find work somewhere," Shetka replied, "you're a smart man Arakai, but you tend to do stupid things. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one keeping you alive."

"That's 'cause you are," Arakai said sarcastically.

After they finished breakfast, the two friends decided to go find a job. Shetka applied at three different diners for a job as an assistant chef, but Arakai looked elsewhere. He thought that with his background in mechanics and science he could find a job in a speeder repair shop or something of the sort. But his search was in vain. When he and Shetka came home, he had to put a profile on the holo-net hoping for a job offer.

The next day, Arakai checked his profile to see if anything came in.

"Anyone want you?" Shetka asked.

"Well there's someone down in Fitcher sector, but he's offering a slave's wage." Arakai replied.

"So no wage at all then," Shetka joked.

"There's one more at a parts dealership but it's all the way on Tatooine." Arakai continued.

"Tatooine!" Shetka sounded surprised, "How did you get a job offer from Tatooine?"

"I don't know," Arakai said, "but he's offering a lot more. Says here they are expanding to be a larger franchise and need more employees. Someone who knows how to work a motivator, ya know."

"Anything more on them? Do they have a rep or something?" Shetka inquired.

"No," Arakai answered, "That's pretty much it, but the wage is 30 wupiupi a day."

"Well it's up to you if you want to go off world," Shetka remarked, "To be quite honest, I'd rather work for the guy in Fitcher sector."

"Yeah, but for 30 wupiupi a day? You can't find better than that anywhere." Arakai said, almost excited, "I'm gonna do it."

"You'd leave everything you know and love behind just for a good wage?" Shetka questioned.

"Not much left to know and love, is there?" Arakai muttered.

"I guess not," Shetka said, "I'd better go withdraw my applications then."

"You're coming with?" Arakai asked.

"I didn't leave the Mandalorian military just to say goodbye." Shetka said.

"We'll need a pilot."

"We are pilots."

"We'll need a ship."

"Are you trying to convince yourself not to go?" Shetka asked.

"Maybe," Arakai said. He really wasn't sure that he was ready for this. It would be the first time he had ever left the Mandalorian system. "No, I'm going," he assured himself, "I have to."

"Alright then," Shetka said and they both set to packing. It didn't take long because they didn't have a whole lot to pack. They soon made their way to their local spaceport. The journey was a long one. The flight was about 5 hours through hyperspace. When they arrived they exited the space bus and viewed for the first time the desolate, desert world that was their new home.

"We're gonna die here, aren't we?" Shetka commented.

"You realize you're not funny, right?" Arakai replied.

"I can try to be," Shetka defended.

Slowly but surely they made their way to Arakai's new place of work. There was a huge sign above the door which read _Tosche Station: Quality Power Converters Since 1977._ They entered the building and made their way to the front desk.

"We're here about the job offer." Arakai said

"Ah, are you the Mandalorian?" the lizard-like man at the desk hissed.

"Yes, yes I am." Arakai responded kindly.

"Yessss, I knew it. I could tell by ssssweaty facccessss. Obviousssly not climatizzzzed," said the reptile, "My name isssss Aussssskey. Come in. We have much to talk about."

Arakai and Shetka went further into the shop. There were spare parts and deactivated droids everywhere. "Assss I told you before," Auskey's raspy voice went on, "I reccccently exsssspanded my businessssss to gain higher benefitssss. I knew I would be shorthanded, but the reward would have me ssssset for life in a few yearsssss and thhhat, my friend, issss an offer I couldn't refusssse."

"Yeah, no kidding," Arakai said half-heartedly.

"Anyway, about your pay," Auskey continued, "I was thhhinking we maybe cut the wage to 20 or 25 a day. Eh, what do you think? Sssstill a good wage, and I can make room for ssssome other employeessss."

"You said 30," Arakai insisted, "I didn't come all the way from Mandalore just to have my wage get cut."

"I undersssstand your conccccern, but let me-"

"No," Arakai cut Auskey off, "30 or no deal. That's final."

"Eeeeh no deal then." Auskey said, "Lasssst time I made a deal with an outlander I losssst a valuable piecccce of merchandisssse."

"And by merchandise you must mean slave." Arakai accused.

"Hey," Shetka whispered to Arakai, "25 isn't that bad. Just take the deal so we can be on our way. Like you said we didn't come all this way for nothing."

"Fine." Arakai said to Shetka. He turned to Auskey and said, "25. No less."

"Deal." Auskey hissed once more. "I exssspect you here at one-quarter rotation every morning ssssharp. You'll ssstart in tomorrow." The two shook hands and the Mandalorians went on their way. As they walked through the streets, they took note of their surroundings. Sand was everywhere. That was apparent to everyone.

"I never knew how much I hated sand until I landed here." Shetka said.

"You got that right," Arakai agreed, "I haven't seen so much sand in all my life."

Suddenly there was screaming. "They're coming! They're coming!" someone shouted. People began to run frantically toward any open doors. Blaster fire erupted soon after. People kept screaming, "Slave raid!" and ducked for cover. A low-flying ship swooped overhead. Several pirates jumped out and opened fire on the townsfolk. Arakai and Shetka looked at each other and grinned.

"And here I thought all that training would never pay off." Shetka said, blaster pistol in hand. Together the two Mandalorians fought of as many pirates as they could. However the confusion and chaos they became separated. Arakai saw some pirates attacking a rich couple and went to stop it. He knew they had nothing to do with him, but something deep inside him made him feel responsible for their lives.

He ran up behind one and wrapped his arm around the man's throat, squeezing as hard as he could. The other pirate turned toward him, raised a blaster pistol to his head, and fired. Almost instinctively, Arakai threw the pirate he held in the way and ducked, forcing the bolt threw his enemy's shoulder, and then he jumped and kicked the pistol out of the second pirate's hands, sending it onto a table next to them. Before the pirate could reach for the gun it Arakai grabbed his arm, slammed it on the table, and snapped it in two with a thick, metal bar he picked up off the ground. The pirate screamed in pain before being abruptly silenced by the bar coming down on him a once again, this time on the head. Then Arakai's focus shifted back to the first pirate and when he saw he was attempting an escape, he picked up the pistol and put two more bolts threw his head and heart.

As the pirates lay at his feet, he looked to see if everyone was okay. The rich couple was fine but there was a young girl lying under a fallen shelf who looked badly injured. He lifted the shelf off of her and picked her up off the ground.

"P-please don't k-kill me," she stuttered.

"I'm not here to kill you," he said. Turning to the couple he said, "She needs medical attention."

"Well I don't recommend taking her off the premises," said the wife, "She'll blow up if you do that."

"Why would she-oh…" Arakai trailed off. It was then he realized that she was a slave.

"So what do you plan to do to us," said the husband, who obviously thought Arakai was a pirate.

"Nothing," he said simply, "In fact, I guess you could say I came to rescue you."

"How can we ever repay you?" asked the wife.

Arakai saw an opportunity to better a life and he took it. "Give her to me. Let me nurse her back to health."

"Surely there must be something else." the husband responded. But he could see in Arakai's eyes that there was nothing else he would accept. "Fine," he said, "then you'll have no payment then."

"Wait!" the wife exclaimed, "If he wants her let him have her, slaves are a dime a dozen anyway."

"Oh alright," the husband conceded, "but you'll need this to deactivate the detonation device."

"What's her name?" Arakai asked.

"Amee," the wife said, "her name is Amee. She's almost eighteen."

"Alright, find cover and stay put," Arakai instructed, "Don't move unless you absolutely have to and don't get in the way."

With that, he lifted Amee up and ran off to find Shetka.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What a crazy week it's been," Shetka remarked, "Kicked off a secret army, leave our home planet for the first time, get employed at a parts dealership, and now we survive a slave raid and we have a slave of our own. That leaves just one thing to clear up then. Why do we have a slave of our own?"

"Shetka, I've told you a million times, she is not our slave," Arakai explained, "We're simply nursing her back to health after which we'll free her and be done with it."

"You know," said Shetka, "25 wupiupi a day would have taken care of us, but now that we've another mouth to feed I think we might need another source of income."

"It's only temporary," Arakai reassured him, "And are you suggesting that you were gonna live off my income and not find your own job?"

"What? Me?" Shetka looked sarcastically shocked, "Never! Why would you think I would think of such a devious thing?"

"Uh huh," Arakai groaned, "Well I've got to get to Auskey's. Take good care of her while I'm gone."

Now Arakai had thought Auskey's shop looked like a disaster before, but after the slave raid, the inside of the building appeared as though a wampa and a rancor used it as a venue for a wrestling match.

"Hey you," Auskey yelled, "I'm not paying 20 wupiupi a day to sssstand around looking. Sssstart cleaning this placccce up."

"25." Arakai said sternly.

"Oh…right…25," Auskey muttered, "Musssst've sssslipped my mind, heh heh."

Arakai knew that it hadn't slipped Auskey's mind. Nevertheless, he started to clean the mess created by the pirates. He got home after several hours of work with 25 wupiupi in hand. He and Shetka lived in an old shack just on the edge of the city. It contained four rooms: a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom, although due to lack of water it was more of a dry bucket room. The first thing he did was check on Amee. She was sleeping on a poor quality sofa adjacent to the front door.

"She has a couple broken bones, but, if treated properly, they will heal in about 3 months." Shetka said from the kitchen when he saw Arakai standing over the girl.

"3 months?" Arakai was appalled, "You and I have had broken bones before that healed over the course of a week."

"Don't forget, we had military grade medical care," Shetka pointed out, "She merely has a splint, some soup, and a couple of Mandalorians who, despite excess training in several fields, never got too much of it in the way of advanced health care."

All Arakai could do was groan. He hated watching people suffer. He knew that Amee was sleeping not because she was tired, but because it was the only way she could forget the pain.

"How long has she been like this?" Arakai asked.

"Basically all day," Shetka answered, "I would be to if it were me."

"I suppose so," Arakai said. The two friends ate dinner and went to sleep.

Over the course of the next three months Arakai and Shetka continued to care for Amee. The three grew very close to one another and soon it was as though they were family. When Amee had finally healed, Arakai freed her just like he said he would, but Amee stayed with them because they were her only friends left on the planet. Shetka started a shop called _The Far Reaches of Space,_ which sold goods imported from other planets, and Amee was glad to help him at the shop whenever she could. Arakai continued to work for Tosche Station and eventually convinced Auskey to raise his pay to 30 wupiupi a day. Life seemed as normal as it could be.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After returning home from Toshe Station, Arakai looked around the shack. He hadn't realized how crowded the small building had become.

"Hey Shetka!" he called, "Is it just me or should we maybe consider getting a bigger place?"

"Shetka's off on a shipment run," Amee commented, coming out of the bedroom, "He won't be back for several hours."

"I see," Arakai responded, "What about you? Don't ya think we could do with a little more space?"

"Well it would be nice, I guess…" Amee trailed off.

"Well I brought some fresh krayt bacon for supper, do think we should attempt to cook it on our own or just roast it in the sun?"

"If you did either of those it would be wasted for sure." Amee put in, "Let me cook it. I'm a million times better than you."

"You realize a million times zero is still zero, right?" Arakai joked.

"Go put it in the kitchen already," Amee laughed, "And don't worry, I'll get to it before it spoils."

Arakai went over to the kitchen and set the meat on the counter. _On Mandalore we had iceboxes, but here we just have sandboxes._ Arakai looked around their kitchen. Besides the small table, the counter, and a crude oven, there was nothing else to see.

"Well I'm gonna look around on the holonet to see if there's any other places within walking distance of Tosche," he called out to Amee.

"Or you could see if there's a landspeeder you can get. It would make Shetka's life a lot easier."

 _She has a point,_ Arakai thought, _but I want more room. I mean, at least another bedroom. That's justifiable, right?_ He exited the kitchen and sat down on the sofa. _Who am I kidding; a landspeeder is a much better idea. We can survive here for a little longer._ He opened up the holonet and started searching for decent sales. Amee went into the kitchen a little while after and began to prepare the food. As Arakai looked through all the different makes and models of the landspeeders, he found that he liked the idea more and more.

"You know I never got to thank you for saving my life," Amee said from the kitchen.

Arakai looked up from his research. "It was nothing, anyone else would have done the same thing," Arakai assumed.

"That's just it," Amee started again, "they wouldn't have. Even my own masters wouldn't have bothered."

"I'm sure that's not true…" Arakai tried to reassure her.

"But it is, though," Amee corrected, "out here it's too dangerous to care about anyone but yourself. Something as small as losing an investment could cost you your freedom, and in turn maybe even your life."

"But on Mandalore-" Arakai began.

"This isn't Mandalore," Amee gently cut him off, "What you did was brave and honorable. Some might have even considered it foolish. That's why I'm so thankful. Had it not been for you, I…"

There was a pause as the two considered of the possible consequence of Arakai not rescuing the rich couple.

"Let's not think about it," Arakai concluded. He would have continued his search for a speeder had he not noticed the tears rolling down Amee's face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Amee answered.

Arakai got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. "Why are you crying?" he asked again.

"I'm just happy to have a chance… I just…"

Amee turned and gave Arakai a huge hug. "Thank you so much," she repeated over and over, tears strolling into Arakai's robes. Arakai returned the hug softly saying, "It's okay, it's okay." The two remained in the embrace for a few more seconds before Amee regained her composure and said, "Alright, alright, _snuff_ I'm ok now. I'm ok. I'm gonna finish supper now."

"Amee, I will always protect you," Arakai promised, "I swear I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

Amee didn't reply but did sniff a few more times as she continued making the food. Arakai walked back into the front room and sat back down on the sofa with the intention of finding a good speeder suitable for "the family", as they referred to themselves as now. _Don't worry Amee, I will always be there for you._

After about a week, Arakai, with help from the family, decided on a landspeeder to purchase. He and Amee went out to pick it up from the SoroSuub Corporation. On the way back from the dealership they were caught in an attempted robbery.

"PUT IT DOWN MAN!" Arakai shouted at the robbers.

"Jabba'll have our skin if we don't pay 'em and your speeder will do quite nicely!"

"You don't need to shoot anyone! Just put it down and we'll all walk away from this!"

"Arakai just give them the speeder!" Amee cried from terror.

"Yea! Do what the girl say!" another robber chimed in.

"There's no need for violence! Just put the weapons down and I promise I won't report you or anything!"

"Like heck we will!" yelled the first robber, "I'll blast your noggin off and then sell your speeder and your girl before I put anything down!"

"NO PLEASE!" Amee shrieked. That was more than enough for Arakai. He leaped off the speeder, did a half twist in the air, and landed on the second robber's head, instantly breaking his neck. "SHOOT!" shouted the first robber as he fired several blasts, missing each time. Arakai quickly drew his blaster pistol and fired once, hitting the man dead in the eye. Then he turned to the third, who was charging at him with some sort of blade. He grabbed the man's hand, twisting his wrist against himself, and thrust the blade into his ribcage. The robber wailed in pain and fell to the ground. Arakai breathed heavily as he stood over the fallen robbers. Amee was still crying in the speeder.

"Don't worry," Arakai rushed to her, "they can't hurt you anymore. They're gone, they can't hurt you."

"I know," she whimpered, "I just didn't want to be a slave again."

They hurried home to show Shetka the new speeder.

"Took you long enough," Shetka said.

"We got held up by some bandits who apparently worked for Jabba," Arakai replied.

"Well, what happened?" Shetka asked.

"They don't work for Jabba anymore, that's what." Arakai said.

"Well, while you were gone Auskey showed up," Shetka began, "Said you're done working there. He found himself a slave so he doesn't have to lose half of his pay daily."

"Well isn't that unfortunate," Arakai sneered, "Never liked that guy anyway."

"You know, _The Far Reaches of Space_ has grown enough to support all three of us now," Shetka pointed out, "Who needs that old Trandoshan fool anyway?"

"Yeah right," Arakai affirmed

"Hey!" Shetka exclaimed, "You got a scuff on it! I knew you were a lousy driver but I didn't know you were that bad."

"That's from the blaster fire, Shetka," Arakai replied

"So I figured," Shetka responded, "Haven't had it for a day and the resale value has already tanked."

"Heh heh, sorry," Arakai laughed. The three friends then went inside for some much needed rest.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Arakai wake up!" Shetka pulled his friend out of the bed. "Come quick! Hurry!"

Arakai lazily stumbled into the front room where Amee was sitting on the sofa, eyes glued to the holonet projector. "What's going on?" he mumbled.

"The Republic has declared war!" Shetka began filling him in, "Something about a huge battle on Geonosis. Like, the whole Jedi Order was there, and they had this huge clone army."

"A clone army?" Arakai was surprised, "That's not right."

"I don't follow…" Shetka said.

"Using clones as an expendable military force is degrading to their humanity," Arakai explained, "It's unjustifiably immoral. They shouldn't do that."

"Well, where else are they gonna come up with an army of that magnitude?" Shetka asked.

"They could have a draft."

"While each planet has the right to a draft for its own military, the Republic as a whole does not."

"Well, who are they fighting?"

"There fighting some separatist movement," Amee entered the conversation, "Apparently a ton of planets have joined it and are attempting to secede from the Republic."

"That's not good," Arakai said; wide awake now, "This will be detrimental to your business Shetka. And what right do they have to just up and leave the Republic?"

"That's what I said," Shetka agreed, "The only good reason for doing something like that is if the Republic was run by corrupted officials who-"

"Quiet, I wanna hear this report," Arakai interrupted.

 _"…_ _Many Geonosian citizens, as well as more than a hundred Jedi, were killed in the fighting,"_ the reporter claimed, _"The total death toll on both sides has reached 150,000 and rising, with at least 500,000 reported as injured and well over a million still missing. The Republic's brand new and massive clone army won the day putting down the rebellion of the Geonosians. It has also been reported that the Geonosians were helped by Trade Federation battle droids…"_

"No, not the Trade Federation," Shetka's excitement turned to a frown, "I have to do business with them. They import everything I sell."

"If it's true that they're against the Republic," Arakai commented, "then you may have to find someone else to buy from."

"Yeah, but it will be twice as expensive," Shetka remarked sadly, "I don't know if I'll be able to stay in business."

"Don't talk that way," Amee tried to cheer him up, "you'll get through this. We all will. This war will blow over in a year or so and everything will go back to normal."

"One can hope," Shetka said, a little less dreary, "Good thing you got that speeder when you did. If worse comes to worst, that may be our only currency."

"It will be worth more too," Arakai added, "If the Republic sweeps the galaxy of any metal and fuel, then speeders will be in high demand. Who knows? We might make a profit off of it."

"See?" Amee pointed out, "always look for a bright side."

Unfortunately, the war did not last a year, but rather much longer. Year after year the turmoil and bloodshed never seemed to end. All the time Arakai felt less and less of a liking for the Republic. He felt like because of its use of clones, it was becoming more destructive than healing. But even then his focus was drawn elsewhere.

"Amee?" Arakai asked, "You wanna take the speeder and go out to Mos Eisley? I here there's a spectacular sunset over there."

"Arakai, this is Tatooine," Amee laughed, "Everywhere has a spectacular sunset."

"No, I know, but like, this one is _really_ good."

"Alright, here let me get a blanket," Amee agreed and headed for the bedroom. For the past couple of years the two had become very close to one another. When they arrived at Mos Eisley, Amee laid the blanket out on the sand.

"You realize that will do practically nothing to stop our clothes from getting dirty," Arakai joked.

"Just shut up and get on the blanket," Amee smiled as Arakai climbed out of the speeder. They sat for about 30 minutes watching the twin suns fall leaving he planet in darkness.

"Um… Amee?" Arakai began.

"Yes?" She responded.

"I… uh…" Arakai felt rather sheepish at the moment, "I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little box. He opened it to reveal a small piece of jewelry. "I had it sent here from Cloud City… I know it's not much but-"

"It's beautiful!" Amee was delighted.

"Amee, I know we've only known each other for maybe a few years, but felt like I need to say… how do I say this…" Arakai started to stall.

"Just spit it out, Arakai," She urged him on while putting the jewelry on.

"I love you Amee," Arakai said finally, "I want to know if you'll marry me." _Man,_ he thought, _really coulda put that better._

Amee gasped. For a moment there was silence. Neither person really knew exactly what to do so they just sat there awkwardly waiting for the other to say something.

Arakai broke it saying, "So who talks first, you talk first? I talk first?"

"No, it's fine, it's just…" Amee trailed off again, still too shocked to reply.

 _Well this is going awfully well,_ Arakai thought as he tried to make sense of the situation. Finally Amee spoke up.

"I'm sorry, yes. Yes of course I will. You caught me off guard there, I wasn't sure if it was real or not."

Arakai smiled, "Don't worry," he said, "however nervous you were, I was ten times as nervous."

"You realize ten times zero is still zero, right?"

"My jokes are only funny when I make them."

"Ha!"

The two came together once again for a long hug. Unfortunately it was interrupted by the blackness that was the sky after the suns had finished setting.

"You're piloting." Amee said grinning.

"Yeah," Arakai said. He knew just how much Amee hated flying the speeder in the dark. When they arrived home they found Shetka passed out and drooling on the floor.

"Well that's a sight for sore eyes," Amee commented.

"And we're back to normal," Arakai laughed as he headed for the bedroom, "Goodnight Amee."

"Goodnight Arakai."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"You're getting MARRIED!" Shetka simply could not get past that fact.

"We told you like an hour ago," Amee was still laughing, "Are you not ok with that?"

"No, it's fine, it's just… that's a lot," Shetka said again, "And this is real? You're not joking?"

"Nah Shetka, this whole thing is a cruel ploy to make you feel left out," Arakai said.

"Oh ha ha. I'm so amused." Shetka laughed sarcastically.

"I'm honestly not sure how you didn't see this coming," Arakai put in.

"I didn't see it coming," Amee stated, "and I'm the one tying the knot."

"THANK YOU!" Shetka sounded relieved.

"Wait, you mean this whole time you had absolutely no interest in any of this?" Arakai looked confused.

"Well, I mean, I had hoped," Amee explained, "but I never thought anything would actually happen. You always seemed so… how you say… uninterested? Is that the word?"

"I think you mean uninteresting," Shetka poked some fun at Arakai.

"Hey!"

"Should I assume I'll be the best man?" Shetka giggled.

"Nah, that's Auskey," Arakai joked, "The only reason you're even coming is that we'll need a caterer."

"Wow man," Shetka smiled, "low blow."

"We will need a minister," Amee pointed out.

"ARE WE SERIOUSLY PLANNING A WEDDING RIGHT NOW!?" Shetka's shock was unfailing.

"You should calm down," Arakai suggested, "Go get yourself a drink."

"No, I'm gonna see this through to the end. Life just got interesting," Shetka responded.

"Really? The galaxy is in turmoil and life is only _just_ getting interesting?" Amee looked at Shetka with a half angry, half joyful stare.

"Soooooo," Shetka quickly changed the subject, "Who's on the guest list?"

"How about Lara Tell? She's nice and she lives just down the street," Arakai offered.

"Sure," Amee thought it was a good idea, "and she can bring her kids too. They're always fun."

"You could always invite Jabba," Shetka proposed, "He's never doing anything important anyway so I'm sure he could make it."

"Go check on your inventory or something," Arakai said, "You're obviously not that good at wedding planning."

"I'm still not over the fact that this is happening."

"You never will be either."

"That is true."

"We can invite Mmmkaffe!" Amee said with excitement, "I'm sure he'd love to come."

"Mmmkaffe, huh," Arakai considered the recommendation, "yeah, that's a great idea."

"Well I'll leave you two love-womprats to your planning then," Shetka said.

"It's "love-bird", man," Arakai corrected.

"I'm well aware," Shetka called as he walked away.

"But seriously though we need a minister," Amee said again.

"How about one of those B'omarr monks?" Arakai suggested.

"EUUCGH! A brain in a jar!?" Amee was disgusted, "Can they even talk? No! I'll never be married by one of those!"

Arakai laughed, "No, it would be great! Imagine the bubbly sound it would make. Of course we'd need a protocol droid to translate-"

"Arakai, I'm not kidding you. I will call this whole thing off if you make me any more nauseous."

"Ok, ok. No B'omarr. I think Jalene Miith would be good though."

"That's a better suggestion. I think we can work with him."

"Where do you think we could have it?"

"Well," Amee began, "we could have it at over at Mos Eisley. You know, where you proposed? It seems appropriate."

"True," Arakai responded, "or we could have it up in Mos Espa. They have some great places over there for an event like this."

"But it's so far away," Amee complained, "Plus, I don't want a huge thing. I just want a small, intimate ceremony with some friends, ya know."

"Yeah, there does seem to be a shortage on those."

Amee sighed. Due to the selfish nature of most Tatooinians, making friends could prove difficult, and both of them knew it all too well.

"Perhaps that's enough planning for one morning. I think maybe I should go find some new employment. Shetka's shop won't support us for long with this war going on."

"Yea, good idea," Amee agreed, "I'll come with and see if I can help."

The two friends headed out on their search for employment. They didn't know it yet, but they were about to find some good friends…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Arakai and Amee started their job search at the Mos Eisley Spaceport. Arakai had planned to find work at one of the ship repair stalls. Together they moved from hanger to hanger but were turned away at every stall they tried. Eventually they came to a rather empty hanger, with very few civilians present. Among those that were there they noticed a Jedi knight and a young Togruta girl.

"Look," Amee tugged Arakai's sleeve, "there's a Jedi over there."

"So I see," Arakai responded, slightly uninterested.

"I think I recognize him," Amee continued, "I can't put my finger on it but he looks like someone I know."

"Well, who all do you know?" Arakai asked, still looking around for open stalls.

"Um, I don't know," Amee continued thinking, "He's uh… um… maybe someone I used to know?"

"Well, why don't you go ask him," Arakai suggested, "I'm gonna keep looking for work though."

"Alright, don't leave without me," Amee said.

"No no, I totally planned to ditch you here," Arakai joked.

"Not funny," Amee said disapprovingly, "I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright," Arakai continued his search.

As Amee walked up to the Jedi, she noticed the Togruta girl also had a lightsaber, indicating she, too, was a Jedi.

"Hi there," Amee began when she reached the two.

"Hi," the Togruta replied, "Can we help you?"

"Wait, Amee?" the older Jedi looked surprised, "Is that you?"

"Yes," Amee replied.

"OH MY GOSH!" the Jedi exclaimed, "I can't believe it!"

"What is it, master?" the Togruta appeared confused.

"It's me! Anakin!" the Jedi continued.

"I knew it!" Amee was ecstatic, "It's so good to see you again! Look at you! You're finally a Jedi! What brings you back to Tatooine?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" the Togruta was very confused at this point.

"Oh, Ahsoka, this is Amee," Anakin explained, "She's an old friend of mine from when I was a child."

"Well it's very nice to meet you," Ahsoka said politely.

"Nice to meet you too," Amee returned the greeting, "You didn't answer my question though, Anakin. Why are you back?"

"You wouldn't believe it," Anakin started, "We had to rescue Jabba's son from the seperatists. We would have been out of here a long time ago but our ship needed to refuel."

" _You_ rescued a _Hut_?" Amee was shocked, "You're right. I don't believe it."

"Well we did," Ahsoka put in, "although I did more rescuing than him."

"Don't forget it was my plan that won the day Ahsoka," Anakin defended, "But enough about me, how has your life been Amee?"

"You're not gonna believe this either," Amee looked as excited as ever, "I'm getting married!"

Anakin was taken aback. "What?" he asked, "Really?"

"Yes, I know, I'm so excited," Amee replied.

"Are you still a slave?"

"No, in fact it was my fiancé who freed me."

"You're gonna marry your former master?"

"He never was my master. He saved my masters from some pirates and they gave me to him in return. But he freed me right away. He hates slavery just as much as you and me."

"Wow," Anakin said happily, "Sounds like a nice guy."

"Do you want to come to the wedding?" Amee asked.

Just then a scruffy looking alien walked up and informed Anakin that his ship had finished refueling.

"I'm sorry Amee," Anakin said sadly, "but the war is too great of a priority right now. I would love to come but I can't."

"It's ok," Amee said, though she was visibly disappointed, "I understand."

"If it really means that much to you," Ahsoka began, reentering the conversation, "I'm sure the council would let you take just one day so you could attend."

"You don't know the council like I do," Anakin corrected, "They would never do anything of the sort."

"Oh well," Amee finished, "Well do come and visit again sometime. I really enjoyed seeing you again."

"As did I," Anakin agreed, "Take care of yourself, Amee. And congratulations."

"Thank you," Amee said graciously. She waved as the two Jedi boarded their ship. After watching it take off, she went back to find Arakai.

"So did you find out who he was?" Arakai asked.

"An old friend from a long time ago," Amee replied, "It almost seems like he's living in a galaxy far, far away now. I'll tell you all about it on the way home. Did you find a job?"

"No, all the stalls are full. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere."

"Don't worry, you'll find one eventually."

And with that, the couple made their way back to their landspeeder and headed home.


	8. Chapter 8

**(Author's note: After a whole lot of research I could not find a single article on how a Star Wars wedding is performed. Given that, I had to model this one after a regular wedding in Earth culture (i.e. "Here Comes the Bride", exchanging of vows/rings, first kiss, wedding reception, etc.) I realize this is extremely unlikely considering Star Wars is a fictional universe with completely different cultures and methods for ceremonies, but bear with me here. There really wasn't much I could do.)**

Chapter 8

It had now been three months since Arakai's proposal and the day of the wedding had finally arrived. The two had decided to have it in Mos Eisley after all. Minister Jalene Miith was to preside over the ceremony. Naturally, Shetka had been chosen as the best man and Lara Tell was Amee's only bridesmaid. It was a very small event with only a few other people in attendance.

Arakai stood in front of minister Miith waiting for the music to signal the beginning. He eyed the two rows of chairs facing him, taking note that they were mostly empty and mainly there for aesthetics. Shetka was in the front right row with an ear to ear grin on his face. In the front left stood Lara and her children. In the remaining rows stood other friends such as Mmmkaffe Barg, a wookie from Kashyyyk, the arconan Bo Mala, and Amee's long time friend Kitster Banai.

Just then the music began. For the first time that day, Arakai laid his eyes on his bride as she made her way up the isle toward him. When she reached the end, she turned and faced Arakai. Everyone in attendance sat down. Minister Miith began with the traditional ceremonial words. All the while Arakai's focus was on Amee. They exchanged rings and said their vows. The minister then pronounced them as man and wife and they shared their first kiss. It was the happiest moment of both of their lives. All in attendance applauded.

"What a beautiful wedding," said Lara to Shetka who, for the reception, was the waiter.

"Just wait 'till Arakai starts trying to dance," Shetka laughed, "Your opinion might very well change."

During the reception, Shetka brought out a plate with a large pastry on it.

"It's one of my old Mandalorian recipes," he told Amee, "I learned it when I was ten years old."

"I look forward to tasting it," she replied.

There weren't any gifts as no one could afford them but Arakai and Amee were very gracious and thankful just the same. The band that Shetka had been able to rent out started to play some music and the dancing commenced. Arakai proved to be a terrible dancer as he often confused the few moves he knew with his martial arts skills. Amee simply laughed as he happily embarrassed himself in front of all.

"What did I tell ya," Shetka followed up with Lara, "He's awful."

"Why don't you go in there and show him how it's done," Lara suggested.

"Hey, I never said _I_ was any good," Shetka quickly backed out.

When it came time for a slow dance Arakai was still trying to refresh himself with some of the blue milk at one of the tables. Amee actually had to drag him back onto the dance floor to finish the night.

"Come on," she said, "We have to dance together now."

"Alright, alright," Arakai conceded, "Just let me finish drinking this last cup."

As bad a dancer as Arakai was, he was able to follow Amee's instructions and dance ok. When the two had finished they spent some time talking with their guests. Arakai talked with Shetka and Lara at their table but Amee went to Kitster and told him all about her run in with Anakin at the spaceport.

"And you invited him here, right?" Kitster was surprised.

"Of course," Amee said, "but he couldn't come. He said the war was too large and the council probably had another mission for him when he got back."

"That's too bad," Kitster was disappointed, "It would've been nice to see him again after all these years. I still can't believe he's actually a Jedi now."

"I know what you mean. I was just as surprised as you."

"Well if you ever see him again tell him Kitster says 'hi'."

"I will make sure to do so."

"Just wait till Wald hears about this."

"Didn't Wald end up getting Watto's shop?"

"Sure did. It's cool to think most of us are free now. Suppose maybe I'm next?"

"Maybe," Amee was hopeful. After the reception Arakai, Shetka, and Amee all gathered in the landspeeder and headed home. When they arrived they were all very tired.

"Well I'm off to bed then," Shetka stated, "Good night you two."

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" Amee grinned.

"To… the… bedroom?" Shetka looked confused.

"I think you mean the sofa," Amee said, "It's my turn to sleep in the bed."

"Oh… um, ok."

Arakai smiled at Shetka as he changed direction and headed to the sofa. Up until this point, that had always been where Amee had slept. But things were different now, and everyone knew it. He and Amee went back to the bedroom and closed the door.

"Man," Shetka said to himself, "I never realized how uncomfortable this was until now."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"You ok in there?" Arakai called through the bathroom door.

"Do I sound like I'm- UUUAAAGGCCHH - _cough cough_ – ok…?" Amee had been nauseous all morning. It had been a couple weeks since the wedding and for the most part everything had been fine until now.

"You want me to get a doctor?" Arakai offered.

"WHAT DO _YOU_ THINK!? YES, I WANT A DOCTOR!"

"Ok ok, geez, just trying to help,"

"Help faster!"

"Is she doing any better?" Shetka asked.

"Take a wild guess," Arakai told him and headed out the door.

"Well, what should I do while you're gone?"

"Beats me," Arakai said, "Just be there whenever she needs you, I guess."

"SHETKA!"

"Oh boy," Shetka mumbled as he headed towards the bathroom.

Arakai had to go all the way up to Mos Espa to get to Dr. Freeves office. He arrived just in time to wait in line for about a half hour before finally meeting with him.

"Please come quick," Arakai begged, "My wife is very sick and she's been nauseous all day. I don't know what to do."

"I'm very sorry," Dr. Freeves explained, "but in order for me to make a house call you must make an appointment three hours in advance."

"She could die in three hours for all I know," Arakai pleaded, "I can't wait that long."

"You must understand I do have other patients that require my attendance," Freeves continued, "Some of them need it more than your wife. If you really want me to come to your house you must and will make an appointment."

"But-" Arakai was cut off.

"If you don't have an illness I can attend to then stop wasting my time. Good day."

"Good day? How can I have a good day when my wife is in agony?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, now leave me be."

With that, Dr. Freeves moved on to the next patient standing in line. Arakai went home angry and sad. When he arrived he found Shetka sitting over a bowl on the sofa.

"What's wrong with you now?" Arakai asked.

"He can't stomach seeing of what I can't stomach!" Amee called from the other room.

Arakai glared at Shetka. "What?" Shetka asked, "It's gross."

"Get in the speeder. You're coming with," Arakai commanded, "Amee, honey, we're going to the doctor ok?"

"Why didn't you bring him here?"

"I'm sure he'd love to explain himself when we get there so let's go."

Arakai helped Amee into the speeder and they flew off to Mos Espa, Amee vomiting all the way. When they arrived at Dr. Freeves office they had to wait in line again for yet another forty-five minutes. Finally they were called in.

"Ah, Mr. Remes," Dr. Freeves began, "I see you've returned, and this time with your wife."

"You'd better be able to make her feel better," Arakai scowled.

"That depends on what the scan results say," said the doctor, "Please be patient, this could be a few moments."

Arakai was not a patient patient. The entire time he had an angry frown on his face. Eventually Dr. Freeves reached a diagnosis.

"I know what's ailing your wife," he began.

"Well, spit it out already!" Arakai shouted.

"Very poor choice of words," Shetka muttered.

"Congratulations, your wife is pregnant."

All the anger in Arakai was instantly flushed away. **(I know, that too was a poor choice of words.)** He looked at Amee with pure joy.

"Did you hear that?" he said, "We're gonna be parents!"

Amee smiled sickly. "I'm still nauseous," she said, but it was clear that she was happy now.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Dr. Freeves said, "I have _sick_ patients to attend to."

"Like me?" Shetka asked.

"No, you're fine," Dr. Freeves remarked, "Just don't join the military or become a doctor."

"Funny story actually," Shetka started, "See, I was in a military-"

"And I don't care," Dr. Freeves interrupted, "Good day again and good luck."

Arakai during this time had been running throughout the clinic telling literally everyone that he was going to be a father. When he finally returned he helped his wife back into the speeder and they flew home.

And then Arakai flew back after realizing he had forgotten Shetka.

"I fear for your child," Shetka informed Arakai after he arrived to pick him up.

"I'm so sorry," Arakai apologized, "This has just been a crazy day."

"That's an understatement," Shetka commented. And so they went back to the shack, dreaming all the way of what joys the child would bring into their lives.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day was a little more relaxing. Amee's nausea had subsided for the time being and "the family" was gathered in the living room planning for the future.

"What are you gonna name it?" asked Shetka.

"I think if it's a boy, we'll name it Luke, but if it's a girl we'll name it Leia," Arakai suggested.

"No, those names are stupid," Amee shot the idea down, "We should name it Cassian if it's a boy or Jyn if it's a girl."

"You could name it after someone special," Shetka put in, "like yourselves or your parents."

"I don't like the idea of an Arakai Jr. running around the house," Arakai said, "but maybe our parents. Amee, what is your mother's name?"

"Her name was Hala," Amee said with a hint of sadness.

"Was?" Arakai asked softly.

"She was taken by pirates when I was nine," Amee explained, "I've never seen her since."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Arakai said, "Maybe let's not name it after our parents."

"No, wait," Amee said, "I think it's a good idea. If it's a girl we can name it Hala, but if it's a boy we can name it after your father."

"Alikai?" Arakai considered the idea, "I mean, it's really similar to my name but it always did have a nice ring to it."

"I like it too," Amee affirmed.

"Then it's settled," Shetka declared, "A boy will be named Alikai and a girl will be Hala."

Amee smiled at Shetka's confidence in his prediction. "I don't want to raise our baby on Tatooine though," she said.

"Wait, what?" it appeared as though all Shetka's confidence was gone.

"I don't want it to grow up on such a desolate world," Amee explained, "I've wanted to leave for a long time but I never had a really good reason until now."

"I know what you mean," Arakai began, "but we can't just leave our home. It takes time to move."

"We have nine months," Amee stated, "Is that not enough time for you?"

"She has a point," Shetka agreed, "I wouldn't want to raise a child here either, man. Much too dangerous with all the slavery and pirates, not to mention the huts."

"I know, I know," Arakai conceded, "I'll tell you what. I'll research and see if I can find a place within our price range on another planet that's big enough for the four of us."

"The three of you," Shetka said.

"You're not coming?"

"I have a home here," Shetka said, "I own a business. I have friends here that I wouldn't otherwise have."

"If you stay," Amee pleaded, "We might never see you again."

"You will," Shetka reassured her, "That's a fact. But this is where my life is. I abandoned everything once, I can't so it again."

Amee continued to try to convince Shetka to come with them but Arakai knew better. He recognized the look on Shetka's face. It was the same one from when he left the military. There was no convincing him to come. If he and Amee left, it would be their parting of ways with Shetka. "The family" would be no more.

"Please," Amee urged him, "Come with us. It won't be the same without you. Do you not want our child to know you as 'Uncle Shetka'?"

"Yeah, now I'm definitely not coming," Shetka laughed, "Amee, as much as I'd love to come, and as much as I want to help you raise your child, I simply can't leave this place. I guess you could say it's grown on me."

"But you just said you'd never raise a child here," Amee pointed out, "Why would you submit yourself to the same torture?"

"I said I wouldn't want to," Shetka corrected, "but if I were to be married and have children of my own, I would raise them here just the same. I'm sorry Amee, but there has to be a goodbye."

Tears were rolling down her face. "No!" she cried and went to the bedroom, locking the door behind her.

"Wow," Shetka said calmly, "She's really emotional today."

"And she will be for nine months," Arakai said, eyes on the holonet, "This site says it's one of the side effects of a pregnancy."

"They call them side effects?"

"Well, what would you call them?"

"I don't know, it's just the term seems a bit crude."

"Well, I guess you'll have to deal with it then."

"Aren't you looking up other estates?"

"In a second, I was just looking at pregnancy and parenting sites to help with the next 38 weeks."

"You always did want to live on Alderaan."

"That is true."

"In a nice, big house with a pool and a huge porch."

"That is also true. What's your point?"

"Well, now you can. Minus the pool and porch of course."

Arakai smiled. He hadn't thought about Alderaan since Concordia. The thought was a pleasant one indeed. "You know?" he said, "I think that's the first place I'll look."

"Atta boy," Shetka approved, "You go find the house of your dreams."

"And is this the house of yours?"

"It will do Arakai, it will do."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The day had come. After six months of research and a lifetime's worth of hassle with the realtor, Arakai and Amee had finally purchased a house to live in. Much to Arakai's delight, it was on Alderaan. Now they were packing for the long journey to their new home.

Well, Arakai and Shetka were packing. Amee, being six months pregnant, wasn't about to pack as she was too tired that day.

"As soon as you get there you should find a job," Shetka said, "You won't be getting any money from me anymore so you're on your own supporting Amee and Alikai."

At this point they had already found out that the child would be a boy and had officially named him Alikai after Arakai's father.

"Don't worry about it," Arakai replied, "I made sure I had an employment offer before I bought the house. We're gonna be fine."

"I would certainly hope so."

"Plus, job stability is much greater on a planet where slavery is illegal."

"Very true."

After they finished, "the family" got into the landspeeder for the last time and flew to the spaceport. When they arrived, they made their way to the freighter that would carry them to Alderaan.

"Good afternoon," the pilot came up to them, "My name is Lindo Calrissian. This is my son, Lando." He gestured to a young boy standing next to him. "Come aboard the Millennium Falcon and we'll take you straight to Alderaan."

Arakai eyed the corellian ship curiously. _That thing is a pile of scrap,_ he thought, _I can't believe I agreed to ride on that thing._

Amee turned to Shetka. "I guess this is goodbye then," she sighed.

"Hey, we'll see each other again. Won't we Arakai?"

"Yeah, for sure," Arakai confirmed, "Just as long as you don't move to the Rishi Maze without telling us."

"If there's anywhere more desolate than this planet, it's the Rishi Maze," Shetka laughed, "You won't find me dead over there."

"You take care of yourself now," Arakai responded, "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss both of you," Shetka predicted.

"I think you mean all three of us," Amee corrected.

"Oh, for sure," Shetka laughed, "Don't worry, Alikai. I'll never forget you. I look forward to meeting you in person someday."

"That makes three of us," Arakai smiled, "Alright; we really should be going now. Goodbye Shetka. Have fun being alone on a desert planet selling everyone everything from everywhere else."

"It's not _that_ bad," Shetka grinned, "Take care."

Arakai and Amee then boarded the Falcon. Arakai soon realized he had judged the freighter too quickly. Despite the great distance from Tatooine to Alderaan, the ship arrived in a little less than an hour.

After thanking the pilot for the safe passage and paying him in full, Arakai unloaded their belongings onto an airspeeder that would take them to their new home. Throughout the flight, Amee couldn't hold back her amazement at the beauty of the planet.

"I've never seen so many colors in all my life," she said, "It's so wonderful."

"I just can't get enough of that fresh air," Arakai agreed, "I haven't breathed this well since, well, ever."

"I know, isn't it amazing?"

"I thought you'd like it."

"I do. I do very much. Thank you for picking such a beautiful planet."

"I wouldn't do any less for you."

As soon as they arrived at there house, Arakai set to unpacking. They had two pieces of furniture, those being a stove and a dishwasher. **(I know not really furniture but who cares)**

"Can you believe it?" Amee was as excited as a kid in a candy store, "We have a dishwasher! An actual dishwasher!"

"Yes, I know," Arakai couldn't help but laugh at Amee's enthusiasm.

"But like, we don't have to wash our own dishes!" Amee simply couldn't get over this fact. "How are you not excited about that?"

"I am," Arakai answered, "It's just not as new to me. We did have those on Mandalore, you know."

"What else do we have? We have a sink!? Look! There's running water coming out of the faucet!"

 _I knew she'd be thrilled but I didn't expect her to go hysterical,_ he thought _, could it be that growing up on Tatooine was really that bad to her?_

"THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" Amee yelled to the top of her lungs. Then she promptly collapsed from exhaustion. Arakai had to sprint to catch her.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," Amee reassured her husband.

"You really should calm down a bit," Arakai suggested, "Let me finish unpacking while you go ahead and rest, ok?"

"You're right, I'll go do that. Um… where do you suppose I go do that?"

"You know what? I'm gonna run over to a furniture store and grab some chairs and maybe a bed."

"Good idea. Have fun."

"Right."

"I'll just be sitting here, leaning against the counter then."

"Alright."

"Don't buy more than you can carry."

"I won't."

"Oh, get a table too."

"You just told me not to buy more than I can carry."

"Then figure out how to carry a table."

Arakai rolled his eyes as he exited the door. He took a long look at the terrain, admiring every bit of it. Then he realized he had nothing to transport anything with. _I'm a complete idiot,_ he thought _, what am I gonna tell Amee? I can't believe I was so stupid._ With that, he turned back and went inside the house.

"Back so soon?" Amee called from the kitchen.

"I'm gonna call the stores and see if they deliver."

"Why?"

"Because Shetka has the landspeeder."

Amee burst into laughter. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "You had us come all the way out here with no transportation!? That's the dumbest thing you ever done!"

 _Yeah, I deserve that._

As it turned out, only one company delivered, but it cost so much that all he could buy was the bed. And it took several days to arrive. Until then, the young couple had to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags.

Eventually, over the course of the next few months, Arakai was able to buy the all the proper furniture for the house. His job, which was at a droid repair shop, paid him enough that he could even buy a speeder in a year or so. But as fate would have it, that all changed very soon. Even with all their planning and anticipation, nothing could have prepared them for what came next…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Back and forth, over and over, Arakai paced the floor. His mind was filled with worry. On the other side of the closed door in the hospital, something incredible was happening. His son was being born. And this was excruciatingly stressful.

 _What will he be like?_ His mind was full of questions. _How big will he be? Will he look more like me or Amee? What will his first words be? What will his first cry sound like? Oh, Alikai, I can't wait to meet you._

He continued pacing for what seemed like hours until finally a nurse came into the waiting room. "Mr. Remes," she called, "We're ready for you now."

Arakai practically bounded toward the door. On entering the room he quickly scanned it for his son. His eyes came to rest on Amee, who was cradling the small baby in her arms as she lay on the bed. Arakai felt like crying at the moment he saw such a beautiful sight. He walked over to her and smiled.

Alikai let out a small whimper as he cuddled up against his mother. Arakai got on one knee and softly asked Amee, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Amee simply smiled and replied, "He's so precious."

"I know," Arakai said. He held out his hand and softly stroked Alikai's back. "He's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me."

"What about me?" Amee asked playfully.

"Hey, I couldn't have him without you."

"Aaaaaboouh," Alikai sounded.

Both parents laughed at the noise their child made. It was by far the most adorable thing they had ever heard.

"Aaaaaboouh," Arakai repeated, looking to gain Alikai's attention.

"Ah ooo abmpmmpmppm," Alikai spat in Arakai's face.

Amee giggled, "I think he likes you."

"Do ya now?" Arakai was completely joyful as he wiped his eyes and nose of his son's spit. "Should we tell Shetka?"

"Of course," Amee approved, "Go tell him right now."

Arakai exited the room for a while and called Shetka on his holopad. A nurse came and started to feed Alikai with a bottle of warm milk. Alikai drank it very quickly and finished with a little burp. The nurse congratulated Amee and left the room. Arakai came back in and told Amee of his conversation with Shetka.

"He's really happy for both of us," he said, "He said he might even come to visit at some point."

"That's wonderful," Amee smiled, "I'll have to stay here for the rest of the day, but after that they'll release me and Alikai."

"It would be nice to see him again," Arakai remarked.

"Yeah," Amee agreed. Over the last three months both Arakai and Amee had begun to miss their old friend very much.

"Eeeh eeeaaaah aaaooo," Alikai continued to make his funny little noises. Each one brought an unquenchable delight to both of the new parents. After being released from the hospital, Arakai and Amee took their son home for the first time. Amee laid him down in a little blue crib the Shetka had sent them as a gift and covered him in a tiny baby blanket. Alikai made a few little cooing noises before eventually drifting off to sleep.

Over the next year the young family adjusted to their new life, with both parents taking turns on diaper duty, feeding, and many other things. As Arakai advanced in his work the house started to fill up with many different things including new furniture, tools, electronics, appliances, and toys. Alikai continued to grow more and more and eventually started smiling and walking. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

On one occasion, when Arakai came home from work, Alikai jumped up and ran to him as fast as his tiny legs could go, tripping and falling a few times on the way but always picking himself back up. When he reached his father he gave him a big hug and said "Dadda!"

Arakai was overjoyed. "Hey there, little buddy!" he exclaimed, "How are you doing today?"

Amee walked into the front room. "You missed it," she said, "He said his first words while you were gone."

"What were they?" Arakai was still smiling.

"He said 'Momma' and 'bowl', or maybe it was 'ball', I really couldn't tell. I taught him how to say 'Dadda' as a surprise for when you got home."

"Who surprised Dadda?" Arakai lifted his son in the air and gave him a big raspberry in the tummy, "Huh? Who surprised Dadda? You surprised Dadda! Yes you did!"

Alikai was too busy laughing to understand a word of what his father said. Arakai set him down on the floor and watched him waddle back to his toys, then he turned and gave his wife a kiss.

"I've got a surprise for you too," she said with a smile.

"Ah, and what might that be?" Arakai ran his hand through her hair.

"I'm pregnant again!" she answered with excitement.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh Amee, this is wonderful!" Arakai gave her a huge hug and another kiss, "I love you so much!"

"Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" Amee asked.

"I just can't wait to meet it whichever one it is!"

"Me too!"

"How long have you known?"

"Not long, I only used the test a couple hours ago."

"Hey Alikai," Arakai called, "How would you like a sibling?"

Alikai ignored him and continued playing with his blocks.

"I dread the day he turns thirteen," Arakai remarked.

Amee giggled, "I'm sure we'll be fine. Now come help me make dinner. I want to try that new recipe Chianda sent us. It looks really good."

"Alright but fair warning, looks can be deceiving, especially when I'm cooking."

"Oh, just get in the kitchen already."

After dinner, Arakai helped Alikai brush his teeth and put him to bed. Then he and Amee stayed up for a few more hours planning for their second child and telling all their friends of the good news. At the end they lay down next to each other to sleep.

"Goodnight Amee, I love you."

"Goodnight Arakai, sleep well."

It was beautiful end to a perfect day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

All he could do was stare. In that moment everything seemed to fall away. The flames were so bright he thought he might go blind, but he couldn't take his eyes off of it. Every sound was drowned out by the sheer terror in his mind. He couldn't hear Alikai screaming in fright or his panicked wife rushing to prepare him to leave. He couldn't hear the speeders flying this way and that; all the people rushing to find safety. He was completely lost to the world, watching a crashed warship as it burned the city he loved.

Slowly he started to come back to his senses. He heard Amee calling in the background, "Arakai! Arakai! Come on! We have to go!"

Still silent he turned around and picked up his son, intending to bring him to the speeder outside. Amee grabbed a bag of all the supplies she could carry and followed him outside.

"We have to get to the speeder!" Amee shouted.

Arakai could barely hear her over the sound of starfighters and laser cannons everywhere. Their speeder was parked in a garage about twenty yards away. Arakai looked up but could barely see anything through the thick, black smoke that blocked out the sky. Occasionally, a vulture droid or a clone fighter would dart here or there spraying lasers as it went. Now they were almost at the garage. They could see some of their friends pulling out in their speeder just before the missile hit. The whole structure erupted in a ball of flames that consumed the speeder and its passengers. Arakai covered his son's eyes as he watched a burning humanoid figure screaming while attempting to escape the wrecked transport.

"Quick," he yelled to Amee, "Follow me!" It was only after having said that that he realized he didn't know where to lead her. He turned to go behind the house towards the less populated sector thinking the fighting wouldn't be as intense over there. He was wrong. Ahead he saw three Separatist Invasion Transports landing in the field behind the city.

 _They must be planning to enter from that side_ , he thought, _either that or the Republic is trying to coral them over there to prevent civilian casualties. That means the best bet is to go through the city and try to make it past the river._

"Where are we going?" Amee was shaking, "Arakai! Where are we going?"

"This way!" Arakai ran into the once beautiful city. People everywhere were running and screaming. Children were alone and crying. Looters were robbing shops of anything of value. Overhead, three Separatist Frigates were engaged in an intense firefight with four Republic Cruisers; debris from the damaged ships rained down on the buildings below. Ahead Arakai saw a crashed Republic Gunship.

"Quick!" he called, "Over there!"

"Arakai, I can't keep up!"

 _I'll have to steal a speeder._ He brought his family to the gunship for some cover and rest while he picked up a fallen clone's blaster rifle. _Heaver than I thought it would be._ He scanned the area for any speeder, transport, anything that could fly. But there was nothing. All they could do was keep moving.

"Come on! We've gotta get past the river!" Arakai ordered, "It will be safe there!"

Tears were in Amee's eyes. "We're not gonna make it!" she cried.

"Yes we are!" Arakai reassured her, "All we gotta do is get past the river!"

"Arakai, I'm scared! I don't think I can run that far!"

"I know you're scared but you have to be strong," Arakai was trying to be as calm as he could, "Alikai needs you. I need you. You can do this, Amee. We all can. We're gonna be just fine."

Just then the gunship started being peppered with blaster fire. A squadron of battle droids had seen them and mistaken them for republic troops.

"Find cover now! Get Alikai to safety! I'll hold them off!"

Arakai lifted his rifle and squeezed the trigger. A stream of blue light emerged from the front, knocking down droid after droid with every other bolt. After finishing them off, he ran back to find his family. _Man_ , he thought, _how did those droids miss us? We should be dead right now._

"Arakai, over here!" Amee called.

Arakai followed the voice until he found his family hiding behind a damaged wall.

"Come on, we're already halfway through. Just a few more miles and we'll be home free."

Amee nodded and stood up, picked up her son, and resumed following her husband through the streets. Bodies of men, women, and children alike were strewn about everywhere. A republic troop transport could be seen at an intersection ahead. The clone commander was hollering orders when a laser came from nowhere to take his head off. Arakai looked to find its source and discovered a separatist tank several yards away. The transport never stood a chance. One blast from the tank's main cannon sent pieces of clones everywhere.

"Don't let them see you!" he yelled to Amee, "You can't dodge a baster bolt and they won't hesitate to shoot!"

They continued running through the maze of roads 'till they came to a relatively clear alleyway.

"Quick, through here!" Arakai directed. The alley would take them out of the city and into the forest if they could just make it through. _Just one more street to cross_ , he thought to himself, _then we'll be safe. You, Amee, Alikai, and your new child, all safe at last._

They approached the street at a good pace. They could see the trees at the end of the alley on the other side. _Come on! You're almost the-_

A blinding flash of light followed by a deafening explosion stopped his thought. He opened his eyes and found himself on the ground. All he could hear was a terrible ringing in his ears. He looked around to see what had happened. He was just on the edge of the street. A battalion of droids encroached from his right, a division of clones fired at them from the left. He had led his family right to the front lines!

He looked ahead and saw that somehow Amee had managed to make it across with Alikai. He couldn't hear them but he could see his son reaching out towards him. Amee was in deep distress as she tried to hold him back from running out to get his father. _Stay there Alikai, I'm coming. Don't worry, I'm coming._ He started trying to crawl across the street, keeping his head low as he did so. Slowly his hearing started to come back. He could almost feel the heat from each bolt that whizzed past him. He could hear quiet echoes of both Amee's and Alikai's cries. _Stay there buddy, Dadda's coming!_ Now he was halfway across. He couldn't quite make out the yells of republic troops, but he could hear them.

Then, to his horror, Alikai broke free of his mother's arms and ran back into the street. _NO, ALIKAI, STAY THERE!_ Amee ran out after him and tried to bring him back. Arakai finally regained his hearing just in time to hear the bolt that hit her. She dropped to her knees, a desperate and scared look still on her face, then, still reaching for her son, slumped over and landed on the cold pavement.

Arakai was stiff. He couldn't make sense of what had just happened. As soon as Alikai reached him he pulled the boy down to the ground and held him down with every ounce of strength he still had left. He stared at Amee's unmoving figure, trying to think of a way to get her back to safety. After a while the realization set in that all he could do was wait and pray whichever army reached them first would be merciful.

After fifteen minutes of fighting, the clones finally drove the droids back and a chance came to move. He stood up and ran to Amee. _She's just unconscious_ , he thought as he dragged her back into the other alley, _she'll be just fine._ Alikai followed with tears streaming down his face.

"Come on Amee, wake up, we have to go," Arakai shook her softly, "Amee, please wake up. You have to help me raise our son. You have to deliver our second child."

There was no response. Her eyes remained closed.

"Amee, please," Arakai pleaded, "Get up. If you get up then we can find a new place to live. We can be happy again."

"Momma," Alikai sobbed as he hugged her. Still she didn't move.

"Amee, don't leave me! You can't leave me! Please!" At this point Arakai was beginning to cry, "Our kids need you! I need you! Don't do this!"

Nothing.

"No, please! I protected you, remember? I saved you! I didn't let them hurt you! You can't d… You can't…"

He couldn't bring himself to say the word. It would be real if he said the word. It couldn't be real. Not to him. They would make it through this. All of them. He looked at his son. It was as though every drop of water in the boy's body was in his eyes.

"Amee…" his voice was much softer, "please don't die."

But he could see now that she had. It was over. She was dead. And he was responsible. He had led her straight into the fight and she paid the price. He took his son into his arms and together they wept over her lifeless body.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The funeral was held on Alderaan. She may have been native to Tatooine, but here was her home. Only a few of those friends who had survived the chaos attended, and some others visited all the way from Tatooine to pay their respects. A General Skywalker had been placed in charge of the relief efforts and, upon hearing of his old friend's death, even went so far as to abandon his command just to say his final goodbyes to the friend he had once held so dear.

Arakai placed the first torch on the pyre. He helped Alikai place the second after which everyone else followed suit. He stood completely speechless as he watched the flames consume his beloved wife. He was angry, sad, confused; he wanted to cry but he couldn't find the tears. He wanted to scream in agony but the silence was unbreakable. All he could do was hold his son close to his chest and comfort him for the loss of his mother.

There was no reception after the ceremony; most of those who had come had other funerals to attend as well. He sat at a table, eyeing the Jedi from across the way while Alikai slept next to him in a baby carrier.

"It wasn't his fault," Shetka said, noticing the path of Arakai's sight, "He wasn't even here."

"His order shouldn't have been either," Arakai answered, "They're supposed to be peacekeepers, not soldiers. You can't keep peace by taking sides." Every word was spoken with disdain.

"Arakai, the Separatists invade planets and force them to relinquish their supplies. Sometimes it's a peacekeeper's job to defend those unable to defend themselves."

"The Republic sends their _clone_ armies to invade any planet that rejects them. This is exactly why they're not allowed to draft; they assert their dominance over anyone who disagrees with them."

"Planet governments do not have the right to secede from the Republic."

"On whose authority, Shetka? Who wrote those laws? The Senate did. They're afraid of losing the power they already hold. If they wanted this war to end, they'd negotiate peace between both sides, but the truth is that too many of them directly profit from this war. Ending it would end their cash flow."

"Arakai, the Senate doesn't profit from war."

"The Kaminoins do!" Arakai was becoming angry with his friend, "They produce every clone the Republic has! You don't think they do that for free, do you?"

"And the Trade Federation produces expensive battle droids by the billions," Shetka countered, "Yes, there's corruption in the Republic but there's just as much with the separatists."

"The separatists are fighting to free us from corruption," Arakai's voice was raised, "They're the only group willing to stand up to the Supreme Chancellor and tell him he can't force his control on us anymore. Even the Jedi grovel at his feet. They're supposed to be a religious order, not a military establishment. Tell me why they can't be neutral in all this."

"Arakai, you're not thinking clearly," Shetka tried to explain, "In fighting for the Republic the Jedi are keeping the peace. If the Republic allows the Separatists to leave then the individual planet governments will see them as weak. More and more will abandon them and then everything we think of as normal now will cease to exist. Think of the problems it would cause for space travel, trade agreements; wars would break out between planets over trivial things, things which could have been settled quickly and quietly in the Senate. A Separatist victory just means more innocent bloodshed."

Arakai's expression was as stern as could be. "Innocent blood has already been shed, and the Republic was powerless to stop it," he responded, "It's long past time for the Senate to be put out of power. The Separatist will need every man they can get to fight them."

Shetka's look turned to concern. "Arakai," he asked, "You're not thinking of joining the Separatists, are you?"

Arakai looked his friend directly in the eye. "I can't stand by and watch this galaxy tear itself apart when I know I have the ability to help free it from tyranny. This war has gone on long enough, Shetka. It's time someone step in to end it."

"Arakai, think about what you're doing," Shetka warned, "Think what this will do to Alikai. If you die…"

There was an eerie silence for a second. Arakai looked at his son, then back to Shetka. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." A hint of sadness was in his voice, but there was no question as to the resolve found in it as well.

Shetka nodded. "I don't support this," he stated, "But I won't stop you either."

"I know I can't ask this of you," Arakai began.

"Don't worry," Shetka stopped him, "I'll take care of him. Just don't get yourself killed."

"Thank you."

There was nothing left to be said. In all his life Arakai had never felt a rift so great between him and Shetka. But at least his son would be safe, and that was all that mattered to him anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Arakai stood back and sighed while admiring his work. After nearly three months he had finally finished the repairs on the BTL-B Y-wing starfighter. He had salvaged it after the battle, finding that it just needed a few new parts in some of its crucial systems, and planned to fly it to Cato Neimoidia where he hoped to meet with Nute Gunray and enlist with the Separatist Alliance. During this time he had thought long and hard about his decision to join up, carefully weighing the pros and cons, risks and rewards, and yet still his heart was set on freeing the galaxy from the Senate and avenging the death of his wife.

"Come on, Chip, we got a big day tomorrow," he said. A series of beeps followed as a black and green R2 unit descended from atop the fighter.

"Yes, that's right. Now we're leaving in the morning so I need you to plot a hyperspace course for me ok?"

The droid made a sarcastic whistle sound before rolling past Arakai towards the stairs.

"Because the ship doesn't have a nav-computer, that's why!"

Sometimes the droid's attitude could be annoying but Arakai didn't mind so much. He enjoyed having something to keep him company. He had rescued it from under a fallen support beam a couple months earlier and, after finding its previous owners had been killed, took it in as his own.

He covered the ship with a tarp, hiding it from potential thieves, and went up to the living room of his new apartment, relaxing on what was left of the sofa. Everything he owned now had been scavenged from the ruins of the city. Even the building he now lived in was only half standing. The rest of it had collapsed on being hit with a bomb. He opened the holonet and skimmed through the latest news. Every day more and more bodies of those people who had gone missing were found and reported as dead. Building after building, structure after structure were torn down and rebuilt from their foundations. Meanwhile the rest of the galaxy was too busy ripping itself apart to send any help to desperate Aldreraanians.

He flipped off the holoprojector and his thoughts turned to supplies. He needed weapons if he was going to fight, but the ones he used to have were either destroyed or stolen by looters. He also needed food, a medpac, and a fresh set of clothes. He hadn't bathed or changed in weeks due to lack of clean water. Just getting those few things would almost be harder than fixing the ship. He picked up a small glass frame. Inside was a picture of his family on Alikai's first birthday. He gently squeezed it and put it in his pocket before setting out to find those items needed for war.

"Chip, I need you to stay here and watch the ship while I go shopping. If anything happens, contact me."

Chip made a worried sounding whir as if to say "be careful".

"I'll be alright, just stay with the ship."

It wasn't an easy task. He spent the whole day searching and bartering, sometimes even having to steal various parts and supplies. Afterward, he returned to his home with everything in hand and prepared for one last night's rest before departing the ruins of the once beautiful planet.

The following morning he and Chip packed the supplies into the Y-wing and took off, never once looking back as Alderaan receded into the distance. Chip finished plotting a course for Cato Neimoidia and signaled the hyperdrive was ready. Arakai hesitated for a few seconds, looking at his picture one more time he hoped he could honor Amee's memory, and then, with great conviction, he pushed the lever down, launching the starfighter into hyperspace.

The Y-wing's military grade hyperdrive was much more powerful than those of other ships Arakai had been on and it accomplished the trip in mere minutes. On arriving at Cato Neimoidia, he dropped out of hyperspace and activated the sublight drive, igniting the two ion fission engines in the back and propelling the ship into the atmosphere. The lack of a separatist blockade perplexed him. _This is their capital, is it not? Wouldn't they want to have protection against a potential invasion?_ He flew around the planet's skies for what felt like hours before finally catching eye of what he thought was the viceroy's palace. He flew in quickly but smoothly, expertly piloting the craft for a soft landing just outside the palace entrance.

"Stay here while I check this out," he said before exiting the cockpit. Two Neimoidian guards clad in bronze armor cautiously approached, blaster rifles in hand.

"Who are you?" one called out, "And what are you doing here?

"I'm looking for Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Fedration," Arakai stated calmly.

"You won't find Gunray here," the guard explained, "Don't you know Neimoidia and all of our purse worlds ally with the Republic?"

 _What?_ Arakai's mind began to race. _Since when did the Neimoidian's align with the Republic? No, no, this can't be happening!_

"You had better explain who you are and what you are doing here before I arrest you for treason and trespassing," the guard continued.

 _Come on! Think, Arakai, think!_

"Treason! What are you talking about treason? Can't you see I'm with the Republic too? Does this look like a Separatist starfighter to you?"

"A starfighter can easily be commandeered by a bounty hunter or a separatist. Now, I'll ask you one last time, who are you?"

"My name is Arakai Remes. I'm with the Galactic Police. I received word that Gunray was hiding out on your planet and came to place him under arrest." _I really hope there's such a thing as the Galactic Police._

"Ah, my apologies, officer," the Neimoidian backed down, "Come, allow us to escort you to our voice in the Senate, Lott Dod."

"Thank you," Arakai breathed a heavy sigh of relief. _Way to close. I really need to work out these things ahead of time._ "And who, might I ask, are you?"

"I am Captain Gap Nox of the Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion. This is my lieutenant, Fame Drimal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." _No it really wasn't, though._

"Please, the pleasure is ours," Nox replied, then, turning to Drimal, he said, "Notify the senator we have a guest."

"Yes sir," Drimal answered and then returned to his post.

Nox brought Arakai up to the top of the palace where Lott Dod awaited their arrival. He was seated behind a desk in his office reading a data pad when Arakai and Nox entered. Arakai tried to catch a glimpse of what Dod was reading but couldn't see it before Dod put the pad away.

"Ah, Officer Remes," the senator stood up, "Welcome to Cato Neimoidia." He looked to Nox and commanded, "Leave us." Nox nodded left the room, standing just outside the door. He began walking toward Arakai, "I must say, your presence is most disturbing."

"How so?" Arakai continued to act the part, unsure of what would come next.

"You say you're here in search of Viceroy Gunray, correct?" Dod asked, leaving Arakai's question unanswered.

"Yes," Arakai could tell he was not in control of the conversation.

"See, this is most troublesome to me because the Viceroy is a war criminal on the galactic scale," Dod continued, "That would make his apprehension a military matter, not one for the local police force."

Arakai realized this had now become an interrogation. "I said I was with the Galactic Police, did I not? We handle galactic matters, not local ones." He crossed his fingers hoping his bluff would work.

"Yes, this would seem reasonable," Dod's voice became threatening, "If there were a Galactic Police Force!"

 _Crap!_

"Also," Dod continued, "I searched for you among various local polices and couldn't find you among any of them. You, as you say you are at least, don't exist. So, _Officer Remes_ , who are you really? And why do you come to Cato Neimoidia in search of Nute Gunray?"

Arakai had to turn this around. If his true intentions were discovered he could be jailed for life. There had to be something he could say, some card he could play that could flip the tables in his favor. But nothing came to him. He stood in absolute silence, defeated.

"You are either a separatist or a bounty hunter," Dod gave a sinister smile, "Which is it? If you answer correctly, you just might see tomorrow."

"Are you threatening my life?" Arakai tried to gain leverage, "I wouldn't want the Senate to find out one of its members commited-"

"Separatist or bounty hunter?" Dod repeated, raising a blaster pistol to Arakai's head.

This was his chance. He grabbed the pistol and pushed it up while jamming his knee into the senator's stomach. Dod let go of the weapon and fell to the floor. Arakai pointed the blaster at Dod's head but still said nothing. Nox, as well as several other Neimoidian guards, rushed into the room, training their rifles on Arakai.

"I suggest you drop that," Dod said, holding his stomach, "This won't end well for you otherwise, bounty hunter."

"Bounty hunter?" Arakai was surprised, "I'm no bounty hunter."

Dod slowly stood up. "Then are you a separatist?"

Arakai didn't respond, he just lowered the gun and put his hands up.

"Guards, arrest this traitor at once," Dod commanded.

"I'm not a separatist!" Arakai shouted.

"Please, no need for yelling. Now do explain."

At this point there was nothing he could do but tell the truth. _Maybe if I cooperate I won't get that bad of a sentence. I haven't really done anything wrong yet, have I?_

Arakai let out a sigh, "I'm not technically a separatist…yet," he started, "I had hoped to find Gunray here to discuss enlisting with the Separatist Alliance. I know now I was mistaken. I'm ready to cooperate and receive the full penalty of Galactic Law for my actions."

Dod's smile returned. "That won't be necessary," he said, "And please, we prefer the term _Confederacy of Independent Systems_."

Arakai's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, "You _are_ with the separatists?"

Dod said nothing to Arakai but turned to Nox instead. "Process him."

Nox grabbed Arakai by the arms and dragged him out of the office while Dod returned to his desk. He took out a holo-communicator and activated it. After a few moments a projection of General Grievous appeared.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We have a new player," Dod answered, "He seems skilled in hand to hand combat and knows how to operate a blaster. I'm sending him to you for further evaluation."

"I don't care for your petty guards," Grievous stated angrily.

"This man is no "petty guard"," Dod corrected, "He's of great interest to me and could prove useful on the battlefield. I suggest you don't take this matter lightly."

With that, Dod closed the communication and returned to his work.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Arakai slowly opened his eyes. He attempted to get off the bed only to discover that he had been strapped down to it. He scanned the room, taking note of the two doors on either side, the set of shelves across from him containing all his personal items, as well as the lack of a posted guard. He could feel vibrations coming from up the floor and shaking the bed. _I'm on a ship. How did I get on a ship?_ He tried breaking free of the restraints but was unsuccessful. _Where am I being taken?_ His mind was full of questions. Eventually, after several minutes of fussing, he slipped a hand out and reached over to free the other, followed by undoing the restraints on his ankles. Finally able to sit up, he began to look around for more clues as to what had happened. There was a sharp pain in his side. _Where did that come from?_ He lifted his shirt to examine himself but found no bruising or evidence of foul play. Just then the door to his right opened and Captain Nox entered.

"Good morning, Mr. Remes," Nox greeted, "I see you've escaped your restraints."

"You mind telling me what the heck just happened?" Arakai began, "Where are you taking me?"

"Please, all will be explained shortly," Nox replied, "In the meantime, can I offer you a drink?"

 _A drink. There's something familiar about that._ Arakai racked his memory for an answer. _Last I remember I was having a drin- Drugged._ The realization came quite quickly to him.

"No thanks," he answered.

"Really, I must insist," Nox pressured, "It is proper for a guest to share a-"

"I'm sure it is but if you don't mind, I think I'm done napping for the day."

"Very well," Nox seemed to spit, "You should learn to conduct yourself with good manners. Otherwise you may find yourself in more trouble than you already are."

"Last I checked, drugging 'guests' wasn't good manners."

"You may consider holding your tounge," Nox warned, "The General has a much shorter temper than me." With that Nox tased Arakai with an electro-prod. The shock temporarily paralyzed him allowing Nox to re-fasten the restraints to Arakai's limbs before leaving again. _The General? What general?_ Arakai could tell it was shaping up to be a long day.

A few moments later the ship slowed to a stop. Arakai could hear clanking sounds coming from outside the hull. _Did we land?_ The door opened again. This time Drimal entered the room.

"The paralyzing affect will only last a few minutes," he said while undoing Arakai's restraints, "You may feel slightly dizzy but it will pass."

"Where are we?" This was all that Arakai cared to know.

"We have just docked with the General's flagship, _The Invisible Hand_ ," Drimal explained, "You will be meeting him soon."

 _Why would a general have a flagship? Does he mean admiral?_

"I hope he's more hospitable then you guys."

"I apologize for Captain Nox," Drimal stated, "He is not the most agreeable person."

"Well at least one of you knows how to treat a guest."

A few minutes passed and Arakai could start to move again. He tried to sit up but almost immediately flopped back down.

"You weren't kidding about the vertigo!"

Drimal laughed, "Don't move so quickly and it won't be as bad."

Arakai slowly sat up, this time stabilizing himself with his hands. He reached for his two 434 Deathhammers but was stopped by Drimal before he could pick them up.

"No weapons."

 _Ok, that's fair I guess._ Next he reached for his holopad but again was stopped.

"No coms either?" he asked.

Drimal nodded, "I'm sorry, but to ensure the safety of both you and the General we cannot permit you to meet him while armed."

"Does this general have a name?" Arakai wondered aloud.

"Oh but of course," Drimal almost looked excited, "General Grievous."

"Grievous? Is that some sort of stage name?"

Drimal seemed annoyed at the comment. "Grievous is one of the finest generals in the galaxy. It would do you well to pay respect."

"Alright, alright, geez. Just making a joke man, lighten up."

"Come with me now," Drimal gestured towards the door. Arakai stood and followed him to the docking port where Nox and some other Neimoidians were waiting.

"The General will see you now," Nox said and opened the door. The next several minutes were spent following the Captain as he navigated his way to the bridge. Arakai was amazed at just how many battle droids there were on board. _No wonder they made a clone army_ , he thought, _otherwise the whole Republic would have been overrun_. They continued making their way through various turbolifts and corridors until finally they entered the bridge.

In front of him stood a cloaked figure, with a head that looked like that of a robot. He was speaking to a hologram with his back to Nox and Arakai. Then, deactivating it, he turned to meet them.

 _Wow_ , Arakai thought, _he's shorter than I expected._

"Greetings, General," Nox began, "This is the prisoner."

"Prisoner! I'm no prisoner! I'm here by my own choice!"

Drimal nudged him in his side communicating for him to be silent but the Grievous' attention had already been drawn to him.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"My name is Arakai," he stated proudly, "Clan Remes, House Kryze. I'm come to enlist with the Confederacy of Independent Systems for the purpose of-"

"Kryze!?" Grievous cut him off, "I am fighting a war! I have no need for a _pacifist_!" He spat the word out with undisguised disdain.

"General, sir," Arakai tried to recover, "I may have been allied with Satine once, but make no mistake, I am a Mandalorian. I am more than prepared to do what is necessary in war."

"Then you had best be prepared to die!" Grievous raised his voice, "Mandalore is no ally of the Separatist Alliance and if you are with them then I will not hesitate to kill you!"

Grievous raised a blaster to Arakai's head. Instinctively, Arakai grabbed his hand twisting it against itself forcing him to drop the weapon. Then he picked it up for himself and aimed it at the General.

"You can't kill me that easily," he said confidently. But then he felt something pressed up against his side. Looking down he saw Grievous' other hand holding a lightsaber. Knowing he'd been outsmarted, he lowered the blaster and put his hands up.

"Before you kill me remember that Mandalore is a neutral system," Arakai tried to reason, "I'm not with the Republic."

Grievous growled, shoving the hilt deeper into Arakai's ribcage causing that sharp pain to return.

"Please, I swear, I'm here to enlist! Give me a chance and I promise you won't regret it!" At this point Arakai was practically begging for his life.

"Your skills are impressive," Grievous acknowledged, "But you lack experience." He reattached the weapon to its clip under his cloak. "You're lucky you convinced Dod of your intentions. Otherwise I would have gutted you here and now."

"Look, I know I haven't earned your trust yet, but I promise you, if you let me join up I can be of great service to the Alliance. I can fix your ships and droids, I can clean your weapons, but most importantly, I can fight. I have advanced training in martial arts, marksmanship, and piloting and I would be honored to put those skills to use for your worthy cause."

Grievous remained unconvinced. "Have you ever even seen a battle before?" he asked, "Do you know how to take a life? You're nothing but a peasant in search of glory, but you won't find it here!"

"Actually I have taken lives," Arakai's tone became more somber, "And I have seen battle. I lost Am- my wife during the attack on Alderaan. I'm not joining in search of glory; I want to avenge her death."

Grievous made no response. The entire bridge was silent for a painfully long time. A single tear escaped Arakai's eye as he remembered Amee. Drimal placed a hand on his shoulder in what was the only show of compassion he had received thus far.

"Go to Deralex," Grievous broke the silence, "Our forces there are in desperate need of fresh troops. I'm giving you command of a small company of droids. Prove to me that you're useful and I'll further consider your offer, Captain."

"Thank you," Arakai said softly, "I promise I won't let you down."

They left the bridge and headed back to the docking station.

"Congratulations on your promotion," Drimal whispered to him, "Welcome to the Confederacy."

Arakai smiled and boarded the shuttle, looking forward to the adventures that awaited him on Deralex.


	17. Chapter 17

**(Author's note: I'm using the origin of the Rogue-Class Starfighter featured in Legends as opposed to that found in Canon as I think it's more interesting and makes more sense considering the design similarities. For this reason, I will be referring to it often as a Porax 38 or P-38 for short. Also, I will shorten the C-9979's full name to C-9.)**

Arakai could hardly contain his excitement. He was on his very first mission with the Separatist Alliance. He had just arrived in the Deralex system and was now leading a squad of vulture droids escorting four C-9979 landing craft to the surface. Grievous had given him a Rogue-Class Porax 38 starfighter that had been modified to fit an astromech. He really liked the ship, enjoying its speed capabilities as well as its smooth control scheme. Outside he saw three Munificent-Class frigates and a massive Lucrehulk battleship that the invasion craft had just departed. The section had been badly damaged in a battle with a fleet of Republic Star Destroyers that were holding a position above the planet. He could just make them out in the distance, their ominous presence sending chills through Arakai's spine. Luckily for him he was out of their range at the moment and all was quiet.

"Well here we are, Chip," he commented, "We're officially combatants in a galaxy wide war."

A series of beeps and boops could be heard through his headset.

"No," he answered the concerned droid's question, "You'll be staying at the command center with the tactical units."

The droid let out a few more interrogative whistles.

"If we have an airborne mission I'll take you but I've been assigned as a ground commander so I doubt that will be happening."

Chip made a sour whir as if to say "You get to have all the fun".

Arakai chuckled, "Don't you worry, you'll get your fair share too."

Unlike the vulture droids, which broke off and went back to the Lucrehulk mid flight, he continued following the C-9s all the way down to the designated drop zone at which point he landed and exited the his starfighter. The surface was an interesting spectacle. He felt lighter due to the planet's lesser gravity. He had landed in a field filled with a noodle-like grass. It was surrounded by thick trees of a rubbery substance, all of which swayed heavily from side to side. The wet and sticky ground was covered by a white mist. He watched as the C-9s unloaded their MTTs and AATs. They lumbered across the along a gravel road toward the front lines. Walking alongside them, he made his way to the mobile command center.

The mobile command center stood next to a Sheatipede-Class shuttle. There was a tall man at a holopad carefully examining the layout of the battlefield. He had three T-series tactical droids standing with him as they discussed a strategy for their next assault. Arakai walked up confidently hoping to make a good impression.

"Morning gentlemen," he said with a smile.

The officer looked at him curiously. "Men?" he inquired. He spoke with a thick Coruscant accent.

"Um…" Arakai stumbled, "Man? …and droids?"

One of the tactical droids spoke up, "You're analysis is incorrect. It is currently afternoon."

The officer raised his eyebrows, "And you are?"

Arakai just stood silently with his eyes closed, a flabbergasted smile fixed to his face.

"Right, well then," the officer continued, "I'm going to assume you're the new captain sent here by General Grievous. It's Remes?" he pronounced it with two syllables, "Am I saying that right?"

"Um.. no. No sir, it's… just Remes,"

"Alright then, I'm Colonel Blaze Wellington," he introduced himself, "This is TX-31, TX-46, and TX-90" he said gesturing the droids. "I'll be your commanding officer. Welcome to Deralex, or as I like to call it, hell."

"Um… there must be a mistake," Arakai was confused, "I'm in command here now. Grievous sent my company as a relief force. That means I'm in charge, right?"

Wellington's eyebrows raised even higher than before. "Excuse me?" he began, "Captain, I believe you may be overstepping your boundaries a little."

"I'm not," Arakai confidence level was rapidly diminishing, "Grievous sent me here to take over the command."

"Grievous sent you here as a _relief_ force, not a _relieving_ force," Wellington corrected, "Your troops are meant to replenish those that the 5th army, _my army_ , has lost. And as for the extent of your command, _Captain_ , Grievous assigned you a single company. That is equivalent to one hundred twelve B1s. Nothing more."

There was another long moment of silence.

"Oh."

"Did you have anything else you'd like to lay claim to before we begin?"

"No…"

"Very good. Now I'm told you have exceptional training in marksmanship. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is," Arakai sensed a chance for redemption, "As well as hand-to-hand combat, piloting, and-"

"Good," Wellington stopped him, "I want you on overwatch duty. You'll take your troops to the top of that ridge and provide cover fire for the main force. I trust that won't be too difficult?"

"Overwatch?" Arakai was disappointed, "Sir, with all due respect of course, I think I'd be better suited for the front lines. Let me lead the main force."

Wellington sighed, "Captain, if you continue to show insubordination I will be forced to court martial you. Now tomorrow at 0800 hours you will take your company and provide cover fire for my main force. Otherwise there will be serious consequences. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Arakai trailed off.

Wellinton's eyebrows raised once more. "Yes?"

"Oh, sorry. Yes sir."

"Better," Wellington remarked, "Now I suggest you familiarize yourself with our weapons. Short range blasters won't be sufficient for a sniper role." With that, he turned back to the holopad and continued his discussion, leaving Arakai to orient himself with the camp on his own.

He headed back to his fighter to unpack. _Great job, Arakai_ , he thought, _you really know how to make a fool out of yourself_. Chip had already done most of the work and made a few excited whistles when Arakai arrived.

"No, it didn't," Arakai answered, "Apparently I'm not in command here and the guy that is, well, let's just say we got off on the wrong foot."

Chip made an inquisitive beep.

"No, I'm sure he likes me," Arakai said sarcastically, "It's not like he humiliated me in front of his officers or anything."

Over the next few hours they moved everything out of the starfighter, unpacked it all, and pitched a tent. After finishing, Arakai started a fire and began to prepare a dinner for himself. He threw some minced nerf meat into a pot along with a mix of vegetables and spices and boiled it for a while. A bit later, Wellington approached him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm preparing a stew," Arakai answered, "I packed the meat from Alderaan for a little taste of home. Care for a bite?"

"You realize there are rations aboard the shuttle?"

Arakai stared for a while, "No, I hadn't realized that."

Wellington looked down at that stew, "Well, it's already cooked. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to enjoy something different for a change."

Arakai smiled, "That's the spirit!" he acclaimed, reaching for an extra bowl. He filled it up with some stew and handed it to the colonel. Wellington graciously accepted the bowl and begun to eat, only to trigger his gag reflex on the first bite.

"Goodness, what did you put in this?" he asked incredulously.

"Sorry, they didn't really focus on culinary arts on Mandalore."

"Not to worry, Captain. It's still better than the rations."

"Please, call me Arakai," Arakai offered.

Wellington gave him a look of disapproval. "Captain," he stated clearly, "if we are to hold a professional level of respect for each other then it would do us well to refer to each other by our professional titles."

"Right," Arakai was embarrassed, "Sorry, Colonel."

"Sir," Wellington corrected. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Captain, I don't mean to come off rude. I just expect a certain level of discipline within my ranks. This is a war; one not won easily."

"I understand, sir," Arakai acknowledged, "It's just… on Mandalore things were a little more relaxed."

"You keep mentioning that," Wellington noted, "What exactly did you do on Mandalore. I thought they were a pacifist planet."

"They are," Arakai explained, "but even a pacifist government must have a means of defense. Satine set up a military task force to protect the planet from invasion. She kept it a secret because of militaries being illegal within the Republic."

"And you were a member of this military?"

"I was. I was dishonorably discharged after breaking protocol to protect a friend."

"That is exactly why you should always think of your comrades as fellow soldiers, not friends."

Arakai nodded. He didn't agree with the sentiment but he didn't want to cause another argument.

"Come," Wellington invited, "Sleep on the shuttle. It's much more comfortable than this tent and I'll need you at full strength for the assault tomorrow."

"Sir," Arakai replied, "I know you need soldiers on overwatch but I really want to fight on the lines tomorrow. Please, if I could just-"

"Captain, I've made my decision on this matter. We will speak no more of this."

Wellington stood and left, heading for the shuttle.

"Well Chip, I guess we're on our own," Arakai muttered.

Chip made a worried sounding tone.

"Look, I'm not gonna sit back and watch the main force have all the fun," he declared, "I'm gonna take my company and start the assault at 7:30. Maybe then he'll start showing me some respect."

He then crawled into his tent for the night's rest, dreaming of the glory he would achieve in the morning.


	18. Chapter 18

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"Chapter 18/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The sun was high at 5:45 AM. Arakai was busy preparing his units for the battle, arming each one with E-5s and SE-14s he had taken from the main force. Then he went over his plan with his commander droid, OOM-113./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I want two assault groups," he said, "I'll take half from the left, you take the others from the right. We'll meet in the middle. What do ya think?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""The enemy has heavy cannons behind the lines. It is not advisable to go in without air support."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Their cannons are faced to the front. They won't be prepared for an assault coming from the sides," Arakai explained, "I'm confident this will work. You just need to have a little faith."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Droids aren't programmed to have faith."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Don't be such a downer, now grab your troops and let's get a move on before Wellington finds out what's going on."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"They began their march at 6:00, a whole hour before he had planned the night before. The moved past the tree line and out into the open where they split the force into two groups. Arakai strode toward the Republic compound in a heroic stance, imagining how he would become a legend after handing the Republic a humiliating defeat. He motioned his troops to spread out, simultaneously making their force seem larger while increasing the difficulty in hitting it. He looked to the side and saw that OOM-113 had done the same./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Meanwhile, on the other side, a clone sentry, Garrick by name, spotted the "massive" force of one hundred-twelve coming in from the sides. Excited but also somewhat disappointed, he sounded the alarm and the GAR scrambled to their battle stations. A line of three hundred men formed in the trenches, DC-15s trained on the incoming droids, while the "forward-facing" cannons changed their trajectory and positioned themselves to fire on the droids./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The siren could be heard for miles. Wellington knew exactly where his missing officer was as soon as he heard it. Quickly he scrambled Hyena bombers with Vulture escorts to cover the wayward captain, as well as a shuttle to evacuate him from the field. But he kept his main force behind, knowing that it was now too late to start his attack./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"This is it/em, Arakai thought, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"time to prove my worth to the galaxy/em. Then he raised his hand and yelled to his troops, "Charge!" 434s in hand, he began to run towards the Republic lines followed by just fifty-six B1s, firing on the clones as they went./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Boom!/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The first cannon fired. The blast hit the ground only a few meters from Arakai sending what seemed like a metric-ton of dirt and smoke into the air. The quake it caused send him sprawling to the ground. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"What!?/em he thought, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I thought the cannons wouldn't move! /emHe looked back to see what happened and saw five droids already destroyed. Suddenly, he found himself worried. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"No! /emhe kept thinking, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"This can't be happening! No, no, no, no!/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Bang!/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The ground continued to rumble as the thunder of the cannons released an unrelenting barrage and blue translucent death. He tried to stand up. "Come on!" he called his forces to push forward, "the only way out is through that compound!" But he lost his footing yet again as he struggled to find stable ground. Now all too familiar whistles whizzed past his ears as the clones on the line sent a ceaseless stream of electric hail toward him. The droids were battered, some losing heads, others their limbs, all having in common the loss of their artificial life. OOM-113's group did no better, receiving a brutal show of military strength from the compound. They had been reduced from a somewhat frightening force to mere target practice. Only a few remained in that group, OOM-113 not among the survivors./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai had never felt so close to death. Never before had he wished so much to have obeyed orders. His life began to flash before his eyes. He remembered everything; Mandalore, Tatooine… em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Alderaan/em. He remembered leading his family right to the front lines, caught in a hell storm just like this. He remembered Amee, lying dead on the pavement. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"No/em, he thought, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I will avenge you!/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"With newfound courage, he stood again and called out, "Onward!" and raised his blasters once more. The resistance was fiercer than ever, lasers seemingly coming from every direction peppering the small company with unending fire. Droid after droid fell, cut to pieces by plasma bolts or annihilated by cannon fire. The situation was very bleak, but Arakai continued his doomed charge, determined and desperate to achieve victory./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Then, in what seemed like help from the hand of a god, ten bombers escorted by dozens of fighters followed by a shuttle craft came onto the scene from above. Diving towards the compound and letting loose an intimidating scream, they delivered an impressive burst of lasers while preparing to release their payloads, providing cover for the shuttle as it made for Arakai's position. However, thick anti-aircraft fire from the clone's side sent several of the Separatist bombers into the ground before they could properly complete their dive. The explosions from the downed ships made a deafening sound that rocked the Republic base./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Thinking the shuttle had reinforcements aboard, Arakai saw a chance and, while the clones were distracted with the swarm of vulture droids, stood up and once again renewed his charge on the compound. But to his surprise, when the shuttle landed it only produced a few OOM pilot droids who motioned him to come to the ship. But almost immediately the cannons put multiple rounds through the unshielded shuttle, thoroughly obliterating it and destroying the pilots. In spite of this, Arakai saw an opportunity for cover. Calling his remaining troops to follow him they continued moving towards the otherwise useless shuttle. Then, after the fire halted for a time, he stood once more and led his last four droids another reckless advance./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Using the smoke as cover, they slowly gained ground but took care not to fire a blaster so as not to give away their position. They could only imagine the loud cracks of the AA turrets as they launched countless beams into the sky. Arakai's senses began to betray him. Fear coursed through his veins in the form of adrenaline. Above were flashes of light as fighters were sent down in flames, but he could hear nothing save for the ringing in his ears./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"His fleeting hope of triumph was soon vanquished as the last of the Hyenas was shot out of the sky along with most of the supporting fighters. In the blink of an eye a spray of lasers suddenly came and went. One struck his hip and he dropped from the pain and shock of it. It took all his strength and resilience just to stand again. He turned around to call his troops onward, only to see there were none left. He dropped back to his knees at the sight of it, the thick scent of smoke penetrating his nostrils as he struggled to breathe from the bombardment. The remaining vultures retreated back to the CIS encampment. There was no sign of Wellington's ground units coming to attack. He was alone. It was over. He had lost./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Behind him he heard the drone of a speeder approaching. Several clones exited, putting their blasters to his head and binding his hands together. He simply stared into the trees, waiting, hoping for something to come from them, anything to save him from failure. Two clones grabbed him underneath his shoulders and dragged him to the speeder. No one said a word. There was nothing to say. All was still, sound, silent./p 


	19. Chapter 19

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"Chapter 19/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""That was a pretty bold maneuver you tried to pull out there," Commander Nick commented, "But it will take a lot more than that to defeat the Grand Army of the Republic."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai sat silently, grimacing in the face of the clone. He sat at an empty table, hands bound behind his back./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Look," Nick began, turning his chair around but still facing the prisoner, "We know you're not the clankers commanding officer, so this can go one of two ways for you. Since you're not in charge over there you're essentially useless for bargaining. If you want I can make arrangements for you to be sent to a Republic prison on Coruscant. I hear they're not as cozy as an interrogation room though," he gestured the room surrounding them. "However, I happen to have some pull in the justice system. I might be able to get you out of this mess you're in… but you gotta give me something first."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I ain't giving you anything," Arakai declared, trying to sound intimidating, "And you're 'justice system' is crap anyway so you can take your offer to the trash."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Look, kid-"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Don't call me em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kid/em."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Look, I'm trying to be nice here," Nick remarked, "But here's the thing, I can only be nice for so long. So either you tell me what I want to know, or you can tell General Fendua. And a little word of warning, the General can be very persuasive."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Then why don't you just shut up and bring the guy in then, huh?" Arakai spat back./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""In due time, but I'm not done with you yet." Nick stood up, "You wanna know why you lost out there? You wanna know how we destroyed your forces so quickly and efficiently? It's because we are superior to you in every way. We think quicker, react faster, aim better, but most importantly, we believe in what we fight for. You may think your droids are loyal to you, but all they need is a quick reprogramming and they're on our side *em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"snap/em* just like that."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Ha! You really think it's that easy?" The words tasted funny in Arakai's mouth, mostly 'cause he knew it was that easy./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Nick smiled, "Let's start with something simple, shall we? How about you tell me your name?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""What's my name to you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I can keep calling you kid if you want."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Hesitantly, he spoke up, "It's… Arakai."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Alright, we're making progress. So Arakai, where is the seps outpost?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I'm not answering anything else."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Aww, and we were just starting to get somewhere. Listen, I'm gonna give you to the count of three to tell me exactly where that outpost is or-"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Or what?" Arakai interrupted, "You'll torture me? That's a war crime, you know. You could end up at the same prison as me. We could even be roommates. What do you think of that, xerox?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Nick's smirk instantly turned sour. "And here I thought we could be friendly." He grabbed Arakai by the hair, lifted him out of his chair, and slammed him against the wall, jabbing him in the stomach with his elbow./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai grunted but looked Nick straight in the eye, daring him to strike again./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Don't you ever call me a xerox again, you son of a Hutt." Nick growled, sending spit into Arakai's face./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Not so cozy in your interrogation room now, is it?" Arakai muttered back./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Tell me where you blasted base is right now!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Why don't you get your general to make me?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Oh I will," Nick answered through gritted teeth, "And I'm gonna enjoy every second of watching you try to resisted her questioning." He forced Arakai to the floor and stormed out of the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Well that went well/em, Arakai thought. He stood up and walked back to his chair and sat down. A few moments later a young bothan jedi entered the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I take it you're General Fendua?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I am," the jedi replied as she sat down opposite Arakai. "Tell me, where is your outpost?" she asked calmly, waving her hand in front of Arakai's face./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai shrugged, "Ask your commander. He knows as much as I'm telling you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Fendua looked confused for a second and then repeated, "You will tell me where your outpost is." Again she waved her hand./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai raised an eyebrow, "Are you not getting this? I already told you I'm not saying a thing. And what's with the hand waving? I thought we were past 'hello'."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Fendua rubbed her chin a moment before speaking up again. "Well this isn't normal…" she said under his breath./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""What isn't normal?" Arakai asked. He really didn't care what wasn't normal as he was too busy dislocating his wrist to escape the binders./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The bothan closed her eyes, bowed her head, and raised her hand one more time. Arakai could see she was in deep concentration and perceived this was his chance to escape. He felt his wrist pop as he slipped it out of the binders. Then snapping it back into place he did the same with the other hand. The jedi hardly noticed, with every passing second she fell deeper into a sort of trance./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Must be some sort of religious-wizard thing/em, he thought, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Now's my chance/em./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Standing up quickly he threw the binders into the jedi's face, temporarily stunning her. Then he jumped over the table, grabbed the lightsaber attached to her belt, and held it at her throat. Clone troops rushed into the room, blasters at the ready./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Well this is a serious case of déjà vu/em./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Let her go!" Nick shouted./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Me first!" Arakai fired back. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Me first? Seriously?/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Not on your life!" Nick barked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Then I guess you're gonna have to find a new general!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""You really think it's that easy to kill a jedi?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Right now it's as easy as pressing a button so if you want to see her breathing tomorrow you'll get your rear end outa my way!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"For a brief moment there was silence. Arakai could see in uncertainty in Nick's eyes. He could hear Fendua's heaving breathing. There was a thick blanket of tangible fear radiating throughout the whole room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Nick lowered his rifle and motioned his troops to back off. With his back to the wall, Arakai moved toward the door, keeping his hostage close to his chest in a choke hold. Shell-shocked, clones stepped aside to let him pass. He then walked backwards through the corridors and to the hanger bay, the clones following with rifles lifted./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Prep one of the speeders," he called./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"A clone shook his head, "There is no way we're gonna just let you walk away-"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Do it now!" Arakai yelled./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Fendua nodded to her commander. Knowing he didn't have a choice, he walked over to a BARC speeder and began the preps. A few minutes passed by./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Hurry it up!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"The speeders engines roared to life. "Done," Nick reported, "It's all yours, you lousy piece of sithspit."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Arakai slowly moved over to the speeder, then, pushing Fendua back to the clones, he jumped on and took off as fast as he could. The clones opened fire on him as his figure receded into the distance./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""How could you let him get away!?" Nick practically howled at his general, "I thought jedi were supposed to be more powerful than that!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""I- I don't know. There was something peculiar about him," Fendua replied. "When I was with him I temporarily lost my connection to the force. I can't explain it, but somehow he was able to stop me from using my jedi ability."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Nick looked incredulously at her, "Right, and I feel this is a good time to mention I lost my ability to use a blaster properly."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""Commander, I'm being serious," Fendua rebuked the comment, "This man, there's something special about him. Now if you'll excuse me, I must report this matter to the council." With that she left the hanger, dignified as ever./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"Garrik, who had witnessed the whole event, spoke up, "Sir, what do we do now?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;""We wait," Nick replied, "He'll still tell us where that base is, all we have to do is wait."/p 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 **(Author's note: For this chapter the perspective shifts from Arakai's POV to that of General Fendua, followed by that of Count Dooku.)**

"Attention!" a sergeant called as Mira entered the command center. Immediately, every clone was on his feet.

"At ease soldiers," she said, then, turning to the sergeant, ordered, "Contact the Council; I have important information to discuss with them."

"Sir, yes sir!"

She moved to the holomap in the middle of the room. Behind her the door opened. Nick's angry stomps could be heard by everyone.

"Are you still troubled by the escape?"

"Still?" Nick was surprised, "How can you ask if I'm _still_ upset about something that only happened five minutes ago?"

"You must let it go. He is gone for now, but we will see him again. At present we must prepare for the next engagement. Remember that though we still have yet to learn of their location, they are well aware of ours."

"That's not gonna stay that way for long," Nick half grinned as he said it.

"Oh?" Mira was pleasantly surprised, "Have our scouts returned with new intel?"

"Better. When I was prepping the speeder for that worthless rat I hitched a tracker to it. He doesn't know it but he's leading us right to them."

"This is good news. But with such a success, why are you still angry?"

"We still shouldn't have let that bantha fodder get away in the first place."

"You should refrain from superfluous insults, commander. They'll only further aggravate you."

"Yeah, well, maybe I like being aggravated."

"General," the sergeant called, "The Council will see you now."

"Thank you sergeant," Mira answered, "We shall continue this another time."

She exited the command center and entered the com room. The Jedi High Council was displayed via hologram before her.

"Master Fendua," Yoda began, "Important information, you have?"

"Yes, master. We halted a separatist advance and captured one of their officers… but he escaped during my interrogation."

The surprise was very evident in the faces of the other jedi. Mace Windu spoke up, " _During_ your interrogation?"

"Yes master."

"And how did he manage that?"

"He managed to slip out of the binders somehow and disarmed me before I had fully realized what had happened."

"So you mean to tell me," Windu's skepticism was unmistakeable, "that he just stood up, and _took_ your lightsaber, without you even noticing?"

"I was deeply concentrating on the Force, master. I was having difficulty connecting to it. That's why I requested to speak with you. As long as I was near him I lost my abilities, but as soon as he left they returned in full. I don't think that is a coincidence."

The surprise turned to confusion and disturbance. Several Council members began murmuring to one another.

"This man," Plo Koon spoke up, "What is his name?"

"I only know his first name. It's Arakai."

"Perhaps he made use of the dark side to block you," Koon suggested.

"Not likely," she replied, "His knowledge of the jedi was limited and he didn't recognize the mind trick I attempted to use. It's difficult to think he could be a Force user."

"How can you be certain it wasn't a mere coincidence?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"I just know it. When I walked into the room I felt a complete separation from the Force."

"Long have dark forces been at play without our knowledge," Yoda spoke up again, "More and more dangerous they have become. Who this man is or where he came from, without more information, know for certain, we cannot. But prepare for the threats like these, we can. Look more into this, I will. To the library I will go."

"Thank you for your report, Master Fendua," Windu closed, "I want you to make it your highest priorty to recapture this "Arakai" alive. If we are ever to understand him or his apparent ability, we will need to question him further. This is a high security matter. No one that the Council doesn't trust is cleared to know this. We are adjourned."

With that the hologram faded. Mira breathed a heavy sigh. Capturing Arakai would not be easy. They had been lucky the first time. He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Dooku sat silently in his meditation chamber. A sith artifact lay before him. He had been concentrating on it, connecting to it, learning from it. But his session was disturbed by a B1 entering the room with a holo-disk in its hand.

"Sir, you have an incoming transmission."

Dooku called the disk to his hand with the force. "Leave," he said. The droid nodded and walked away. Dooku activated the disk and a hologram of a Sith Lord appeared before him.

"What is they bidding, my master?" Dooku asked, bowing his head.

"We have a situation. A rather informative jedi has alerted me to the presence of powerful individual among your ranks," the sith answered.

"And what kind of 'powerful individual' do you speak of?" Dooku questioned again.

"From his description I can only assume this man is anti-sensitive to the force," his master smiled, "A rare condition found in about one in every six trillion. Standing in his presence will negate your connection to the force."

"What causes this 'anti-sensitivity'?" Dooku inquired.

"Until now it has only been spoken of in legend. This would be the first confirmed case in galactic history. I want you to find this man, 'Arakai' by name, and show him how to use his power to his advantage."

"It shall be done, my lord."

"Good. You can find him on the inner rim world of Deralex. This matter is of paramount importance," the sith warned, "This man could prove to be a great asset to us. Do not fail."

The hologram faded. Dooku breathed heavily. _Could this be what we need to end this war once and for all?_ he thought. Standing up he went to the bridge and called to a droid commander.

"Search our database for the commanding officer of the attack force on Deralex" he ordered, "Let me know if you find someone named Arakai."


End file.
